Still Flying
by Gorramit Girl
Summary: Next in the Keeping On 'Verse. Mal, Zoe, and company continue to adjust and keep flying, even when trouble appears to be brewing on the horizon. Now Complete!
1. Part I

**Disclaimer**: Firefly, Serenity, and all related characters are copyright 2002-2005 Mutant Enemy, Inc., Universal Pictures, and 20th Century Fox. This is a work of fanfiction. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Summary**: Mal, Zoe, and River meet with their new contact and Lilah learns how Wash died.

**Still Flying: Part I**

* * *

The spaceship _Serenity_ touched down on the planet of Greenleaf almost effortlessly, hardly disturbing the cattle herd that was in a nearby field.

"We're landed, Captain." The pilot informed Malcolm Reynolds over the intercom.

"Thank you Lilah. Nice landing. This shouldn't take too long." Mal said, down in the cargo bay. Zoe and River were busy lowering the mule.

"I'll keep the com open, just in case." She insisted.

"Don't worry. It'll go smooth." Mal said, not seeing River and Zoe give each other a look before rolling their eyes.

"Right. I'll just remind Simon to have the infirmary ready for when you guys get back." Her voice held a tone of amusement, which Mal ignored. He supposed it was his fault for implying that he was injured frequently, and he could only imagine what Monty might have told her.

"You gonna come with Zoe and me, River?"

"Yes. I want to be useful." River was dressed much like Zoe, and Mal was more than a little bewildered at the sight of River wearing actual pants.

"Fair enough."

He, Zoe, and River climbed into the mule, and with Zoe behind the controls, they took off, anxious to see what business could be accomplished.

* * *

The trip to the bar where they would be meeting their contact was easy enough to find. It wasn't the kind of bar that Mal was expecting (it was more high-end than he was used to), but he remembered that some parts of Greenleaf had been undergoing renewal efforts to make it a more appealing planet for others to settle on. Despite having the best medical facilities outside of the Core, Greenleaf had been losing its population to other planets for a few decades, though it wasn't under-populated by any means.

"Mr. Shang?" Mal asked of the well-dressed man waiting at the contact spot. He was short and balding and wearing rounded spectacles, but had a jovial sort of charm to him. He vaguely reminded Mal of a sea-lion, if he was honest with himself. He certainly had the whiskers for it.

"Yes. Captain Reynolds, I presume?"

"That would be me." Wanting to get down to business, "I was led to believe by a certain Mr. Kristos that you had goods you needed delivered to Beylix."

Mr. Shang motioned for Zoe and Mal to sit and join him and they did so. Drinks were served and Mal briefly caught River's eye as she sat at the bar, as Mal had told her to do.

"I do," Mr. Shang said. "There are several factories on Beylix that want to upgrade and they need the parts to do it. Alliance charges too much for what should be a simple transport job. The Mendel boys are waiting for a shipment, and I've been told that you're honest in what you do."

"That I am. I've run jobs for the Mendel boys before. They're good and honest folk and it's good to do business with them. The contact at the Sky Bazaar was new, but he seemed a decent type."

"Mr. Kristos has been doing this work for a very long time. He is good at matching buyers and sellers and middlemen. It is his gift, you might say, if you were poetically inclined. I shall have my men load the cargo into your ship within the hour, if you're agreeable. They are trustworthy and should not give you any problems."

"Right. We'll be waiting at our ship then. We're in the last berth at the Quarterport docks, though whoever thought it was a grand idea to place ship docks so close to cattle ranches was not extremely mentally gifted." He took the small data chip from Mr. Shang and handed it off to Zoe, who hadn't said a word. Shaking Mr. Shang's hand, he said, "Pleasure doing business with ya."

"Indeed. I hope this will be the beginning of a nice and healthy business relationship, Mr. Reynolds."

They went their separate ways, Mal collecting River from where she had been sitting at the bar, keeping a lookout and enjoying what looked to be a glass of club-soda, complete with some kind of neon-pink twisty straw. And, judging by the few splatters of club-soda around her glass, she'd been blowing bubbles in her drink the entire time.

_Great,_ Mal thought. _She's blowing bubbles when we're discussing business. Still, suppose it's better than blowing bubbles when we're discussing crime._

"River, was he being truthful back there? Or do we need to prepare for a nasty surprise?"

River looked at him as she paid for her drink and gracefully hopped off of the bar stool, bringing the ludicrous straw with her.

"He was truthful. He has worries about the cargo being pinched once it is delivered to the brothers Mendel, but is truthful."

"That's a comfort." Mal said, and Zoe spoke her agreement. The trio walked back together, River spinning her straw in-between her fingers rapidly.

"Is it really necessary to keep that damn thing?" Mal asked, when he noticed.

"Yes." River said firmly.

* * *

Back on ship, Mal informed the others that the shipment would be coming within the hour and told Jayne and Zoe to be ready to help load it.

Looking at Lilah, he smirked.

"And here you were thinkin' we'd need the infirmary. I told you it would go smooth." Mal strode away smugly, and as he ascended the stairs to the catwalk, he tripped over a step and fell forward, banging his head against the sharp metal. He lifted his head and the others saw that there was a small gash on the side of his forehead…one that would require a weave.

The others shared a look, Jayne outright laughed.

"Not one word. Not one _gorram_ word. I'll be in the infirmary. Doc, you'd best follow."

He walked away, head held high.

Simon rolled his eyes and dutifully followed.

***

River took a deep breath as she knocked on Inara's shuttle door.

"_Qing jin_."

River entered the shuttle, finding Inara covering up her cortex screen hastily.

"River! To what do I owe this surprise?" Inara asked kindly.

River held up the two bags she carried.

"You said you would help me. I don't want to be a little girl anymore." She looked uncertain and very nervous.

Inara stood and took River into her arms, hugging her.

"Of course I'll help you." She pulled away to smile at her. "Do you have an idea of where you wish to start?"

River smiled and nodded her head.

"Well then, I'll go ahead and close the door to insure that there are no interruptions, and then you and I can get to work."

"_Xie xie_."

* * *

Zoe and Jayne met Mr. Shang's men and giving them instructions, helped load the many metal crates of factory machine parts into the cargo bay. It was boring work and work that they'd both done too many times to count.

As Jayne lifted a particularly heavy crate onto another, he looked up to see River enter Inara's shuttle, carrying two bags.

"Wonder what the hell the Moonbrain's doin'." He casually commented to Zoe, who looked up as well. River continued to shun him and he was surprised to find that it bothered him. Hell, he didn't even like her. She was a pain in the ass as far as he was concerned and if she wanted to go and get all uppity and high-minded on him, then he didn't want to deal with her anyway.

"My guess would be that she's doing girl stuff with Inara." Zoe said, picking up a crate and carrying it over and placing it next to the two stacked crates. She motioned to a bigger one that the men had just set down before leaving to get another one. Jayne and Zoe lifted up the large crate and, nearly staggering underneath the weight, managed to move it to a place of safety.

"What the hell she wanna go and do that for?" Jayne asked, looking disgusted.

"I don't know Jayne, maybe because River's a young woman, and that's what young women do."

"Ruttin' useless."

"Jayne, she could shave her head and paint her skin purple for all the Captain and I care, so long as she's happy."

Jayne rolled his eyes and continued to help Zoe stack the crates and secure them. He left for his bunk when the men had left and Zoe had informed Mal that they were good to go.

* * *

River sat contentedly as Inara brushed her hair. Her head felt so much lighter than it had in years; she was surprised at just how heavy hair really was, and was grateful she'd let Inara talk her into cutting off a few inches.

_"It's dead hair, River."_

_"All hair is dead. Your argument is irrelevant." River said._

_"But it doesn't look healthy and shiny, like a young woman's hair should be. That's what you want, right? To be a young woman? You don't like fixing your hair, and the shorter it is, the easier it will be to take care of."_

_"Long hair is pretty and girly." River argued, even though Inara was right; River didn't like fixing her hair, for reasons she simply didn't want to share with the others._

_"Not always, River. Look at Kaylee. Her hair is shorter than yours and she's still very girly. I promise you'll still look like a pretty young woman after I trim your hair. It's so long you'll hardly notice a few inches missing."_

_"Fine then."_

"This feels so nice." River said.

"Kaylee always enjoys it," Inara agreed. "There's something soothing in the repetitive nature of it."

"You don't need to worry. She isn't attracted to the Captain." River said suddenly.

"What? Who?" Inara questioned, bewildered.

"Lilah. She feels no desire for Malcolm Reynolds."

"Why are you telling me this?" Inara asked, feeling her face flush.

"Because you've been worried that she would develop feelings for the Captain and I wished to ease your mind."

"I thought that you were working on not reading the crew." Inara said, slightly chastising.

"I have been. I didn't read her. People tell you things all the time without saying a word. It's in her speech and in her body language. She feels no attraction to him."

"I-…thank you, River. It's none of my business, but thank you for telling me, even if it's of no importance. I have no claim on Mal."

"But don't you wish that you did?" River queried innocently.

"It's complicated, River." Inara said. Switching subjects before the conversation got too out of hand, she continued. "Now, let's see about those clothes you bought."

River nodded her agreement and Inara nearly sighed in relief.

* * *

"Simon, honey, I'm going to be okay. I've worked in the engine room before, you know. I'll be just fine." Kaylee said, talking with Simon in the engine room.

"You weren't last time." Simon said, quietly. "Kaylee, it could have been so much worse."

"But it wasn't, Simon. It was a fluke and it ain't likely to happen again anytime soon. I got careless, is all." Kaylee reassured him. "And 'sides, now that I know I got a wedding to look forward to, you really think I'm gonna let myself get hurt?"

Under her smile, Simon couldn't help but cave.

"Just…promise to be careful."

"I promise, Simon." She kissed his cheek and went into the engine room.

She commed Lilah and Mal up on the bridge.

"I'm ready when you all are."

"Thank you Kaylee." She heard Mal say. "Take us out of the world, Lilah. We gots supplies to take to Beylix."

Kaylee monitored the engine systems as she felt Lilah power up and lift _Serenity_ into the air. Everything seemed to be okay; indeed, she'd barely felt a thing. Wash had been able to lift her girl like that too. Kaylee smiled, hearing the purr of contentment _Serenity_ gave that she was very sure only she could hear.

Mal came in briefly to check on her, and making sure that she was okay, left.

Picking up a wrench and a rag that she tucked into a pocket, Kaylee lowered herself onto the floor, and got to work.

* * *

Zoe had retreated to her bunk, looking through her captures. Some were of just Wash, while the others were of the two of them.

She recalled the captures that were in Lilah's album, trying to reconcile that Wash with the Wash in her own.

But over and over it kept ringing her head, the same thought, the thought that kept her lying awake in their bed.

Wash had _lied_ to her.

_Wash_ had lied to her. _Her_, his _wife_.

He'd _lied_ to her.

And she couldn't figure out why. And then it made her wonder why he was so irritated when Zoe and Mal would tell their "war stories." If he'd served, why would it have bugged him? Why would he have resented it so much? Why would it have made him feel like he didn't belong?

_Dammnit, Wash. Why would you do this to me? I thought we trusted each other. Why couldn't you have trusted me with this?"_

* * *

"These pants are tighter than I like." River said. "But I can move around in them." To illustrate her point, she backed away from Inara and brought her leg up past her head, spinning around. "Better for fighting. I could wear these on jobs; I _did_ wear these on the job today."

"Yes, but even outside of jobs they would be nice to wear. They are very flattering on you, River."

"I like the other pants. They sway around my legs and feet when I walk." She smiled. "Not suitable for crime but fun."

"What do you think of the shirts?" Inara prompted.

"They are acceptable, but I do not like the support I have to wear because of them." She frowned. "I do not think I am large enough to merit the support." She looked down at her chest, sadly. "But it is not uncomfortable and I will yield to the wisdom of she who is older than I."

Inara laughed gaily.

"And now, River, it's time for you to learn to wear suitable shoes."

River groaned, much to Inara's amusement.

* * *

Mal was walking back up to the bridge when he heard Lilah speak over the com system.

"Captain, there's a wave for you from a man called Badger."

Mal hurried up and upon entering the bridge, nodded to her. She pushed a button and Badger's face appeared on the screen.

"Ah, Captain Reynolds! I see that you've got a new woman on board. Who is she? New player?"

"Never you mind. Do you have business to discuss with me? I'm in the middle of a job right now."

"Just stop by the next time you lot are on Persephone. Last time you all landed and left without so much as a hello to me. It wasn't very polite of you, you know."

"Wasn't sure if we should have bugged such a fine and upstanding businessman like yourself. But if it broke your heart that much, I suppose we could stop by next time we're around." Mal smiled, the one where he didn't really mean it.

"Watch yourself, Reynolds. 'Ta then."

"What a little rodent." Lilah said, after the wave ended. "I feel like I need to scrub down and I only spoke to him for a minute or so."

"Man has that effect on folk, it seems. But he plays a damn big role in business on Persephone, so it don't do much good to irritate him, though it is fun upon occasion." He looked out at the space before them. "How long until we reach Beylix?"

"Most likely four days, barring any exciting adventures like last time." Lilah said.

"I think we're all past that phase now." Mal said, grinning. "Oh, and just a reminder…you're on cooking rotation tonight."

"Wonderful." Lilah deadpanned.

"Look on the bright side, Lilah. It ain't Simon's cooking. Hell, last time he cooked by himself some of us got food poisoning. Spent the better part of a day hurling our innards into the toilets." Mal said.

"Food poisoning from protein? Is that even possible?" Lilah asked incredulously.

"Apparently so. Doc ain't top three percent for nothin', it seems." Mal said. "And you actually get real food to work with, so that's gotta count for something."

"Whatever you say, Captain." Lilah said. "I'll start dinner here before long."

"Shiny."

Mal left and Lilah relaxed back into her chair. _That man is so strange._ she thought. _But then I suppose it would take a strange man to captain a strange crew. And now I'm a part of said strange crew. Interesting, but strange._ She sighed, recalling the conversation that had happened in the common area outside the infirmary a few days earlier.

* * *

_"So, Captain. You said you'd answer my questions. I think now is as good a time as any."_

_Lilah was sitting on the couch, next to Simon, who was sitting next to Kaylee. Jayne was reclining in a chair (and managing somehow to look almost indecent while doing so) and River was hovering next to the nearest exit. Inara was sitting on the other couch and like Simon, Mal was sandwiched between Inara and Zoe._

_"Alright then, Ms. Linn. What do you recall about the Miranda broadcast that got sent out 'bout a year ago?" Mal asked of her._

_"It just about turned the 'Verse upside down, I know that. Some band of people found a recording and broadcast it. It said that the Alliance was responsible for Miranda essentially being a black rock and creating the Reavers. What's that got to do with anything?"_

_"It's got everything to do with what we're about to tell you. That broadcast weren't no lie. Everything on the video was truthful."_

_"And how do you know that?" Lilah asked._

_"Because we were the ones who broadcast it." Zoe said. "We found the recording and we waved it to every world spinning."_

_"Is that how Leaf died?" Lilah asked. The others obviously weren't used to her calling him that, but that was how she had known him._

_"Yeah. Doc, why don't you take over the telling of this little tale?" Mal said. "You just about got the prettiest voice out of any of us when it comes to tellin' things."_

_Simon did so, hesitantly at first, before he found his voice and plunged forward, sparing no detail. He told her about how River had been sent to an academy to learn and had instead been locked up there to have her brain played with by surgeon and be conditioned as an assassin. He told her about their coming onboard _Serenity_, and how River was at first insane. He mentioned her going wild in the Maidenhead Bar on Beaumonde, taking out the entire bar before he'd put her to sleep._

_On it went…Haven, a man they had known called Shepherd Book, an Operative of the Parliament, tearing apart the ship so that it would look like a Reaver ship, Miranda and its terrible secret. And he told her about Leaf, about his last flight, dodging ships, Alliance and Reaver alike, and crashing _Serenity_ into Mr. Universe's moon, and how he was impaled by a Reaver harpoon and killed instantly. He detailed their battle against the Reavers, how River had saved them all and defeated the entire swarm, and how Mal had gotten the signal through._

_By the time he had finished, everyone was sitting in stony silence and the mood was very somber._

_It was almost too much to take in. The ordeals that this crew had been through together, how strong they'd been…Lilah was in awe. It was amazing that even after everything that they had been through they were still together – still a family._

_She looked at River, who was sitting in the doorway closest to the bridge. River wasn't meeting anyone's eyes and Lilah felt a deep welling anger at the hun dans who'd decided to play God and cut up a little girl. And somehow, Lilah felt it was important to let River know that she accepted her and appreciated her._

_"You're quite a young woman, River." She said. "Probably one of the most remarkable that I've ever met." River looked at her, smiling hopefully. "You're pretty, you're smart, and you can handle a gun. The boys back home would love you," Lilah said, thinking the boys where she grew up. River beamed and blushed._

_"It's a lot to take in, we know." Mal said._

_"You all are either completely brilliant or absolutely _feng le_." Lilah said._

_"Most likely it's a bit of both." Simon said wryly. "The warrants on River and I have been rescinded, but we still like to keep a low profile. We can't trust that the Alliance won't try and put her back in the Academy if they get a hold of her."_

_"Believe me, my lips are sealed."_

_"Right. I think that about covers everything." Mal said, clapping his hands together._

_"Shiny." Lilah said._

_She'd later retreated to her sanctuary on the bridge, mourning for her friend who had died a hero. She could picture him threading the space around war-ships and Reaver ships with _Serenity_. Leaf had been an excellent pilot when under pressure. While others would have panicked, he had always found a calm place and went with it, retreating behind a Zen-like grace._

We always knew you'd do something great, Leaf. We all knew it. I'm gonna miss you. I hope it's smooth flying wherever you are.

_She fiddled with one of the dinos that had been Leaf's and smiled sadly._

* * *

Lilah checked her watch and groaned. It was time to go and cook. She set the controls to autopilot, making sure that they were still on course and not flying into a moon or something, and left for the mess.

She checked what was in stock and decided to make something simple. Pulling the hair back from her face into a ponytail, she pulled out what she needed from the fridge and the cupboards, washed her hands, and got to work.

She concentrated on her task, chopping and cutting and grinding and sautéing until she could inhale the aromas that were starting to waft through the mess. She smiled blandly to herself; this particular meal, while simple, had been one of Wendell's favorites.

"You should do that more often." She heard. Looking up, she saw Kaylee.

"Do what?"

"Pull your hair back. You're always pushing it back from your face, but you never pull it back." She grinned. "You look lots younger with it pulled back."

"I pull it back when I run, when I weld, and when I cook, that's about it. I can't really say why, but it's a habit, I guess. You know, I used to argue with my mother so much growing up, because I always wanted short hair, and she always said no. Then, when I joined up with the Independents to be a fighter pilot, they cut most of it off."

"Didja hate it?" Kaylee asked.

"Oh, you have no idea. It was like my hair had gotten into a fight with a machete, and the machete didn't just win; it put up a flag, established a government and sung an anthem. It was nearly a year before it grew to any decent length. Thankfully by the time I was married it'd grown out more, else I think Wendell would have run off screaming in terror. I swore I'd never get it cut short again."

"Whatcha cookin'?"

"Chicken and mushrooms along with rice and what I think is some kind of green vegetable protein. The can didn't actually have a label." Lilah said, picking up a fork and poking at the cooking green protein suspiciously.

"It smells wonderful."

"Here's hoping it tastes as good as it smells."

"I'm sure we'll all love it," Kaylee insisted. "About how much longer, do you think?"

Lilah surveyed the grill and the pans before her.

"Probably about ten minutes, I'd say."

"I'll just go and round up the troops." Kaylee said, walking away cheerfully.

* * *

River felt particularly cheery after spending a few hours with Inara. She felt somewhat different than usual…happy that she had taken a step towards letting herself grow up and sad that she was finally starting to let go of that little girl inside her. But she was happiest that even after the hair and the clothing and the shoes, she still felt like _her_. She was still River that that pleased her more than anything. Inara had been very right when she insisted that it wouldn't change who River was, it would just give her a different outlook, perhaps.

She thought it was rather fitting. She was growing, wearing away new paths for herself, trying to find her place. She felt like she was on the verge of breaking through her cocoon and discovering that she was a butterfly. She giggled softly to herself; she always did have a vivid imagination.

River felt like a girl, like a person, and it meant the world to her after spending three years being conditioned and trained to believe that she was not human nor anything but a weapon.

* * *

Mal smiled to himself as he sat down with his crew at dinner. The food was good, not the best he'd ever had, but still damn good. His crew seemed happy, for the most part. This latest job seemed pretty smooth and they possibly had work from Badger after their job was completed. River was looking forward to the drop and things just seemed to be falling into place.

The only sore spot was Zoe dealing with what he knew she considered to be a great betrayal from Wash. Truthfully, Mal couldn't grudge her. She had been starting to come to terms with what had happened and then she'd had Wash's past (and Wash had been pretty close-lipped about what he used to do before _Serenity_, now that Mal remembered) laid open in front of her and had her perception of her husband turned upside down. Anyone would have been more than a little sore after something like that.

But mostly, things seemed to be going well for once.

He just hoped that it lasted.

* * *

I hope you enjoy! Questions, comments, and constructive criticism are greatly appreciated!


	2. Part II

**Disclaimer**: Firefly, Serenity, and all related characters are copyright 2002-2005 Mutant Enemy, Inc., Universal Pictures, and 20th Century Fox. This is a work of fanfiction. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Summary**: The crew makes the drop, a bar fight is had, and things get a little too intense while flying to Persephone.

**Still Flying: Part II **

***

Lilah set _Serenity_ down a few miles away from the town where the Mendel boys had specified. Mal had said that the Mendel boys would be at the drop point to unload their cargo. He didn't expect any trouble from them; he'd done business with them before, he said. He also mentioned that he, Zoe, and Jayne would be going into the town with the Mendel boys afterwards for a drink. Apparently that was how jobs for them always went: delivering cargo, then town for a drink.

"We're good to go, Captain."

"Thank you Lilah. Now we play the waiting game." Mal's voice echoed through the com.

She reclined back into the chair, yawning, before turning and reaching down next to the chair, pulling a large bulk of a deep blue yarn and needles out of the bag she always brought with her to the bridge. Clearing her mind, she picked up where she had left off, working the rows until Mal commed to tell her that she was needed in the cargo bay.

***

The Mendel boys arrived on schedule, as they were wont to do. One tall and one short, the Mendel boys were good to do business with. Kyle and Lyle were simple folk and lived simple lives and wanted to get along in their world with as little trouble as possible. They treated their contacts well and passed along a good word for them as did good work and a less-than-good word for them as skimped and slacked off. They were simple – not stupid.

They liked doing business with Malcolm Reynolds and his crew. Mal and his people amused them to an extent and they respected anyone who could keep a crew together for as long as he had. And seeing the pretty first mate and pretty mechanic and the pretty Companion was a plus as well.

They called their greeting to Mal and his crew who were waiting in the cargo bay with the doors wide open – a sign of welcome and trust they'd come to recognize in their years of doing business with all kinds of transport crews.

"Nice to see you show up on time, Captain Reynolds," Kyle said, holding out his hand, which Mal shook with a smile.

"I'm always on time for you boys," Mal replied jovially, shaking Lyle's hand as well.

"It's one of the reasons why we keep you around, Captain." Lyle said. "And I see the pretty ladies are here too…and a new pretty lady!" He winked outrageously at Lilah and she rolled her eyes in return. He sighed. "I don't suppose any of the others have fallen madly in love with me yet?" He said, giving them all a hopeful look.

"Not a one. And our mechanic just up and got herself engaged to our doctor." Mal said, rolling his eyes. He and Lyle went through this little joke every time.

"I think my heart just broke." Lyle said, clutching at his chest.

"I'm glad to hear at least one is off the market, not that women should be a market. That'd just be…wrong." Kyle said. "Lyle, I think Martha would beat you senseless if she heard you was eying other women."

A goofy and dreamy look went over Lyle's face.

"I love my wife."

Everyone laughed at that and then went to work, loading the large and heavy metal crates onto the large bed of the mule trailer. A special creation of theirs, the men had said the first time the crew gawked at it. It looked ridiculous, but they said it got the job done.

A half an hour later, when all was finished, Kyle gave his usual invitation to Mal for drinks, including the crew, though Zoe and Jayne were the only ones who ever joined them.

Surprisingly to everyone, River said that she would like to go as well. Mal looked startled and Simon looked ready to protest until he apparently thought better of it and said nothing.

"I suppose that'd be alright, River. Who knows, maybe even you'll find some cute little sap who'll make moon-eyes at ya and I'll get to beat him up." Mal said, cheerily.

River blushed, and after asking them to wait a few minutes so she could take care of something, rushed back to her room.

***

River had gone to her room to retrieve her gun, a piece that she had bought, albeit with Jayne's help, a few months after the ordeal with Miranda. She kept it on her person when going planet-side and decided it would be prudent to keep it with her in the bar.

The drinks were okay enough. River found she didn't care for strong spirits and instead settled on what Jayne openly mocked as a 'sissy drink' because she liked the fruity taste better. Relaxing, she opened her mind to those around her a bit and was pleasantly surprised.

Two teenage boys back by the pool table thought she was real pretty and more than a few of the older men did as well – and she picked up quite a few lustful thoughts towards Zoe. She smiled at that; warrior women seemed to be the favorite type for men on this moon. She also smiled knowing that Zoe would most likely roll her eyes if she knew what the men were thinking about her.

Then she heard one thought that troubled her and concentrated more, before brushing it off as the musings of a pervert and turning back to her drink and the conversation at hand, which had something to do with a crew mixing up a delivery and giving Kyle and Lyle crates full of women's clothing, rather than the cattle feed they had ordered.

She excused herself from the table to visit the ladies room, drawing concerned looks from Mal, Zoe, Kyle, and Lyle, and an irritated look from Jayne.

"I'm okay," she insisted, frowning when she heard Jayne's very audible snort of derision.

She walked off and had almost made it past the bar to the hallway when someone who wasn't family grabbed her.

River's reaction was instantaneous. She swung around and brought her other arm up to elbow the offender in the face, and he stumbled back while clutching at his nose which was bleeding profusely. Two of his buddies decided to join in and River was surprised when it was Zoe who joined River's side and took out a man by clubbing him with her mare's leg.

Half of the bar got in on the fight, while the other half stood back in fear and awe of the two women who were whipping the men handily.

Finally the barkeep had had enough and fired his shotgun into the air, drawing everyone's attention.

The men who had bothered River slunk out in disgrace and the rest cut Zoe and River a wide berth as they made their way back to the table where the others were sitting and trying to look nonchalant about the entire ordeal.

"Feel better, you two?" Mal asked conversationally.

"Much." Zoe replied, taking a long hard swig of her drink.

"I suppose." River said with a shrug.

"This ain't gonna cause trouble for you two, is it?" Mal asked of the brothers who were sitting quietly.

"Nah," Kyle smiled. "People have been getting fed up with those scum for months now. They try to act like they own the town when in reality they ain't got two credits to rub together between the lot of them. Hell, we just may erect statues in your honor."

Lyle snickered.

"Please don't," Mal and Zoe said together, with a vigorous nod from Jayne, who added

"Statues don't cause nothin' but trouble."

They sat a while longer telling jokes and being companionable before Mal and Zoe decided it was time to start walking back to _Serenity_.

"Might wanna be careful walking back," Kyle warned them. "Those men are scum but they're damn prideful and it'd probably be good to keep your wits about ya."

"Thanks for the advice." Mal said sincerely. "Wave us anytime you need work done."

"We will, Captain Reynolds." Kyle assured them.

***

The trip back to the ship was thankfully event free and once back onboard, Mal went up to the bridge to tell Lilah to set a course for Persephone. He noticed that she had been knitting, which surprised him.

"Might as well find out what Badger wants." Mal said, heaving a sigh. Lilah could tell that Badger was not his favorite person ever. Hell, she hadn't even _met_ him and he wasn't her favorite person ever.

"He fancies himself the boss of you, I could tell." Lilah said. "He probably fancies himself the boss of everyone, come to that."

"You ain't wrong." He cleared his throat. "You uh, are you doin' okay? With the job and all? You ain't plannin' on up and leaving are you?"

Lilah looked up at Mal as she finished setting course for Persephone.

"I'm alright. If the crew could go a few weeks without giving me a shiner I suppose this could work out. Besides, I'd have to take Penny with me," she pointed to the ridiculous green plastic dinosaur that she had added to Wash's old collection. "And then he and all his friends would be sad."

"Well, you know, if it would make Penny sad..." Mal said, wondering what the hell was up with his pilots being not-so-normal.

"No promise on the not-punching then?"

"Thing about this crew is, is that when one of them takes an idea into his or her head, that person don't let go of it easily. It makes it damn hard for a captain to keep them in line."

"Fair enough." Lilah conceded.

"What were you making?" Mal asked, sitting down and pointing at the mess of blue yarn on her lap. "Before I came up?"

"Oh…it's just something to keep my hands busy." She hurriedly stuffed her work back into its bag, blushing.

"I wouldn't have pegged you as a knitter. Or a good cook, for that matter. You keep this up and I'mma start thinking you're downright domestic." Mal joked.

"I had to learn to keep my hands occupied." Lilah said quietly, not meeting Mal's eyes.

"What?"

"After the War, about a few months after it ended, Wendell and I both started having…episodes, I guess. We'd have nightmares and our hands would shake and we'd have panic attacks." She looked up at him, expression sad. "Finding hobbies was something a therapist suggested. The more we kept our hands busy, the easier the episodes became, until they trickled off and we were able to put most of the stuff we'd went through behind us. Knitting, cooking, gardening…it was a way to deal." She gave a harsh laugh that didn't sound right coming from her.

"Did your husband take up knitting too?" Mal asked, hoping to lighten the mood.

It worked and he could see Lilah visibly brighten.

"Carpentry, actually. He replaced just about every piece of furniture we had that first year we were married." She smiled saucily. "He was good with his hands."

"Didn't really need to hear that last bit, but I get where you're coming from." He looked at her, curious. "Do you just do it mindlessly or were you actually making something? With the yarn?"

"I'm making socks for River." She lowered her voice as if confiding in him. "Truthfully, I think it's mostly because I get cold chills just looking at her walk around all bare-foot."

Mal smiled at that and made to leave. He was at the doorway when she couldn't help but ask

"What do you do?"

"Beg your pardon?"

"What do you do, to deal with it? With the War?"

He looked at her and gave a humorless smile.

"You're living it right now, Lilah. You're living it."

He left.

***

Jayne was killing time by lifting weights. He was relieved that they'd be setting down on Persephone for a bit. He was pretty sure that he would be paying a visit to his favorite cathouse there if there was enough time. He couldn't figure out why he'd been wound so tight lately, but he was hoping that a good, hard, long night of sex would take care of it.

He finished his reps and then placed the bar and weights back on its stand. He missed having Shepherd Book around to spot him. They didn't always agree on everything, but it had been sort of nice, talking with Book and sharing the few odd stories. It brought back memories of times he'd used to share with his brother Jules while he was home on break from the abbey where he was studying to take his orders as a Shepherd.

Jayne stiffened as he heard an unfamiliar gait up on the catwalks. It wasn't Lilah; he'd learned to recognize her walking patterns in a few days. He looked up; it was River, once again going into Inara's shuttle. He focused on her feet…it was the shoes that was throwing him off. She almost never wore shoes and when she did, it was combat boots. Her new shoes and boots, however, he was having a hard time pinning those sounds down, which bugged him. He didn't like unfamiliar noise on _Serenity_; it usually meant trouble.

He briefly wondered why she was so bent on locking herself away with Inara. She'd been spending a great deal of her time with the Companion and neither River nor Inara mentioned their visits or what went on during them. He had a brief image of the pair naked on that pretty bed of hers before he pushed it away. There wasn't a need for that kind of thinking; he'd be in the cathouse on Persephone soon enough.

_'Sides, unlike 'Nara, there ain't a thing about Crazy that'd make her a stiffener._ He thought derisively.

***

The trip to Persephone was mostly uneventful. Simon and Kaylee were reveling in the newness of their engagement. No one had warned Lilah about their activities in the engine room and she ended up catching and eyeful one day when she went to ask Kaylee for help with one of the screens on the bridge. She avoided the pair for the rest of that day before pulling Kaylee aside before bed and congratulating her on Simon's assets.

Zoe was still shutting herself off in her room and only came out at meal times. Mal was particularly troubled by Zoe's actions; she hadn't been so wooden since the first few weeks after Wash's death. And before that, it hadn't been since Serenity Valley fell to the Alliance. Zoe had finally started to come to terms with her husband's death, and now it was as if she was back at square one. Mal ached for his best friend. His mind feel back on a tried-and-true method of helping Zoe deal…keeping her busy.

Calling for a game of space-ball was a welcome distraction for everyone. Mal had to actually order Zoe into the game and he managed to stand his ground when she gave him the evil eye. The crew gathered, even Inara and Simon. He was distracted by the sight of Inara in loose pants and a slight top that showed off her flawless stomach. She'd pulled her hair back like the other women had and Mal took in the sight of her long and slender neck and the perfection of her skin. He shook his head to clear his mind and was relieved when he ended up on Inara's side, because otherwise he'd have been distracted…more.

Mal, Inara, Jayne, and Lilah faced off against Zoe, Simon, River, and Kaylee. The game started off fair enough. Zoe had a formidable team and they scored several times in quick succession. Jayne and Lilah put their heads together and ended up arguing. It was a good strategy. Zoe's side was distracted by the argument, allowing both Mal and Inara to score.

The game started to get dirty soon after. Lilah and Zoe ended up fouling each other often, but not nearly as often as Jayne and River. Simon tripped Mal and Kaylee and Inara squared off. Shots were taken, both at the hanging hoop and at each other. Mal finally called the game off when Jayne and River took things too far.

The pair got into a rough grudge match. River kicked Jayne in the bottom and then Jayne pushed River roughly to the floor, and the second she was back on her feet she gave a little jump and punched Jayne in the face. He slugged her back and then, as Mal had heard it said, it was on. Kicks flew and punches were thrown. River clawed at Jayne's arm and he backhanded her viciously, splitting her lip. Finally Mal and Zoe were able to pull River away from Jayne and Simon immediately went to Jayne's side, in full doctor mode.

Both Jayne and River were panting harshly and eyeing each other with great dislike. Mal grimaced as he realized that the temporary truce that seemed to be between Jayne and River was most likely gone. He tried not to be too disappointed; he never did think that it would last too long. Still, he didn't like his crew to be agitated and fighting with one another.

Simon ordered Jayne to the infirmary and Mal told River to go to her room. She stormed away and Jayne gave her one last vicious glare before following Simon.

"So…does that mean that anyone who _didn't_ get backhanded or clawed wins?" Lilah asked. Zoe snorted and actually gave a laugh. Inara rolled her eyes, something Lilah didn't miss. Mal smirked and started pulling the hoop back up into its resting place before leaving for the infirmary.

"Kaylee?" Lilah asked.

"Yeah?" Kaylee was redoing her ponytail and making to leave.

"Simon went to Jayne. I would have thought he'd have gone to River first. I mean, she's his sister."

"Believe me Lilah, Simon was going to the one who was worse off. River can hurt Jayne far more than he can hurt her." Kaylee said. "It's not the first time the two of them have gotten into a tussle."

***

Meanwhile, in the infirmary, Mal was having words with Jayne while Simon disinfected the scratches on Jayne's arm.

"What the hell did I just see in the cargo bay?"

Jayne snorted. "Would've thought that was obvious."

"I don't know what in the spinning 'Verse has gotten into the pair of you two, but you'd better get it sorted out."

"She's the one who ruttin' started it!" Jayne said.

"I know that. But I don't rightly care who started it. I ain't havin' this on my boat, Jayne." Mal said.

"Fine. Come and yell at me while Captain's little girl gets off scott free." Jayne muttered petulantly.

"Oh, she and I will be having words, you can trust me on that."

***

Have words they did.

River nearly didn't come to dinner that night. Inara finally managed to coax her out of her room, promising her that everything would be okay. River was still upset after her talk with Mal. He'd been harsh with her, far, far harsher than either of them had expected. But Inara spoke calmly to her and River finally cracked a smile.

"Besides," Inara had said. "Kaylee is cooking and you don't want to make her feel bad, do you?"

River shook her head and then let Inara into her room. Inara brushed and pulled her hair back and River smiled gratefully. Inara pulled River into a one-armed hug and kissed her forehead.

"Things will be okay _Mei mei_. Fights can happen in cramped spaces with no chance to get away."

"He makes me so upset." River said quietly. "We start getting along, and then he goes and says something and all the trust falls away."

"Jayne isn't known for his tact. Perhaps you two should just stay away from each other for a while. That might be best for all of us."

But when River finally trailed into the mess, the only available seat was right next to Jayne. She quietly sat down, flinching when he scooted his chair away from her. Dinner was stilted and River fled as soon as she was done eating, intent on finding someplace to hide. It was like that for the rest of the week.

***

Arriving on Persephone was a relief for everyone. What no one was expecting was River to be the first one off of the ship. Jayne caught a glimpse of her all dressed up and leaving the ship before anyone could stop her.

"Hey! Crazy! Get back here!" He called after her, to no avail. He ran down the rest of the stairs to go after her, but she had already lost herself in the crowd. He went to the com and yelled. "Mal! Doc's sis just ran off!"

"WHAT?"

"Got herself all gussied up and took off just now! Lost herself in the crowd!"

The crew assembled down in the cargo bay. Mal looked very tired.

"What's the plan, Sir?" Zoe asked.

"You, me, and Jayne are going to see Badger. Inara, Lilah, Kaylee, and Simon are going to search the docks for her." He looked at Inara's little group. "You all would probably have a better idea where she'd be going than I would. Now, hopefully before this day is out we'll be eight again."

The crew locked up the ship and left, parting ways.

Jayne was grumbling all the way to Badger's little den and Zoe and Mal both told him to be quiet.

"We'll find her soon enough." Zoe said.

She was very right, it turned out.

When the trio arrived at Badger's, River was already there, looking very fine and pretty, sitting on Badger's desk, and eating a shiny red apple.

***

I hope you enjoy! Questions, comments, and constructive criticism are greatly appreciated!


	3. Part III

**Disclaimer**: Firefly, Serenity, and all related characters are copyright 2002-2005 Mutant Enemy, Inc., Universal Pictures, and 20th Century Fox. This is a work of fanfiction. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Summary**: The deal with Badger is made, but with a catch. Meanwhile, a spat breaks out between Simon and Kaylee.

**Still Flying: Part III**

***

"Well," River said, mimicking Badger's accent flawlessly. "Look who finally went and decided to show up." She turned to Badger, who was staring at her with a large smile on his face. "Told you they'd be here."

"That you did, Love. That you did." He said, fondly. "Captain Reynolds, so good of you to show. I was starting to think that you'd forgotten all about me." He stood and moved around the desk, trailing a few fingers down one of River's bared arms. "Luckily your charmin' little passenger hadn't. She's a right pretty peach, ain't she?" River gave a girlish giggle and flashed a radiant smile up at Badger.

"Yeah," Mal deadpanned. "She's really something."

"Do you have work for us or is this just a social call?" Zoe asked.

"I've got a buyer for some artwork done by a local artist here on Persephone. Buyer lives on the Bellephron estates and can't make the trip here for some reason or another. What I need is for you to haul these bits of precious to her estate, collect the payment, and bring it back."

"Are they pretty?" River asked Badger.

"Not half as pretty as you, Love." Bader smiled.

This was seriously starting to creep Mal out. He had no idea why River was acting like this. She _knew_ that he didn't like Badger and she _knew_ that Badger was a low-life. So why in the seven blue levels of hell was River in his place of business, flirting up a storm?

"So, Reynolds…do you want the job or not?" He asked.

"Bellephron Estates, you said?" Mal asked.

"What are you, deaf?" River laughed. "He didn't stutter!"

"Yeah, we'll take the job. Just give us the specs and we'll get everything loaded up." Mal said, working to control his irritation at River, Badger, and the entire situation.

"Sure. The cargo is in one of the warehouses over by the Bershers Market. Warehouse 5. She's not expecting the art to be delivered for at least a week and a half. So, you'd have some time to kill, assuming that new pilot of yours knows what she's doing."

"She does." Mal said firmly.

"The price is 10,000 Credits. I'm just warning you, this lady's a real piece of work. Hope you can handle her." Badger grinned and River giggled. "Her name's Shiloh Wu." He handed River a small data chip. "Lovie here has the full specs."

"Well then, we'll go and load up and be on our merry."

"After our little outing, you mean." Badger said.

"What outing?" Zoe asked.

"Your girl and I, of course. The Persephone Ballet Company is performing this evening and I promised her I'd take her. I couldn't go back on my word; that would be rude. I'll bring her back as soon as it's over and _then_ you all can be on your merry little way off of this planet." Badger said, looking like the scrawny, flee-ridden cat who'd got the cream.

"A date?!" Jayne exclaimed. "Yer takin' _her_ on a date?" He looked incredulous.

"Yeah, he is." River said, eyeing the others almost disdainfully. "Kind of nice to meet a man who can appreciate the arts."

"Right. We'll be waiting. Have fun." Mal said tightly. He, Zoe, and Jayne left, shaking their heads. They heard River say to Badger,

"Just have to keep them in line, is all."

***

They met the others back on the ship. Inara, Lilah, Simon, and Kaylee were still very worried and upset that they hadn't found River. Mal assured him that there was no possible way they could have found her. He told them the details of what had happened and had to duck out of the way as Simon lunged for him, swearing.

Zoe and Lilah pulled Simon back, none too gently.

"It ain't my fault, Doc! She was already there and she seemed to know what she was doing. What's currently escapin' my brilliant and criminal mind is just exactly _how_ she knew what the hell she was doing!"

"It was when you had your little spat during that fancy party about two years back." Zoe said. "Badger was holding us hostage, remember?" Mal nodded warily and absently touched his side. "We were all in the cargo bay and River flitted in for some reason. Badger noticed her and she started talking to him, reading him and copying his voice. He tried to be charming and she gave him a blistering set-down. I reckon he took a shining to her after that."

"So Crazy decides to whore herself out just so we can get some coin? Stupid little girl." Jayne muttered darkly.

"He said that he was taking her to the ballet, Jayne." Inara said sternly. "I highly doubt he's going to assault her, and if he tried he'd be dead before he hit the floor."

"Girl's apparently tryin' to be useful. She's got a damn stupid way of doin' it, but we can't change what she did. We're gonna let this play out, and then I'm gonna sit down with our little genius and have some words."

"What if…" Lilah started, then stopped.

"What's on your mind?" Mal asked.

"What if she wasn't just thinking business?" Lilah asked.

"What do you mean?" Simon asked, still being held back by Zoe, even though he'd calmed down. "Please tell me you don't think she's actually attracted to him."

"No, nothing like that, really. She told me that she loves to dance and that she loves ballet. What if she also did it so that she could go and see the ballet?"

Simon was silent and then he hung his head.

"It was her favorite thing when she was little. She used to dance all around the estate whenever she could. Her room was full of ballerinas and tutus, along with her chemistry sets and MD surgeon kit and astro-physics encyclopedias." He smiled at the memory, picturing with perfect clarity his twelve year-old sister dancing around the estate gardens, pig-tails flying and skirt swirling.

"All of this runnin' away and flirtin' with that low-life _go se_ is just sos she can go see a bunch of pansy-ass morons dancin' 'round? Girl really is _feng le_." Jayne said derisively.

"I think it might be deeper than that, even." Inara said. "River is growing up and she's starting to think of herself as a young woman. It's only natural that she's going to experiment and flock to others who see her that way as well. She's trying to be a normal girl and she probably remembered that Badger took an interest in her."

Mal sighed. "I'm thinkin' of takin' back every mean thing I ever said about my 'Ma when I was a teenager. Poor parents." He forced a smile. "Right. Lilah, you and Zoe are going coming with me to get this cargo. Everyone else, you're all on your own time until 2200 Persephone time. Zoe, Lilah, start lowering the mule."

Jayne immediately left for his bunk. He came back, wearing a clean shirt and looking noticeably less armed than usual. He also appeared to be in a very dark mood.

"Jayne, you got some plans?" Mal asked, as he finally joined Lilah and Zoe in mule.

"Yeah. Gonna go and work off some stress. I'll be back in time." He strode down the ramp, muttering to his self.

"That is a very cheerful man." Lilah remarked.

Mal and Zoe snorted.

"Believe me," Zoe said. "You have no idea."

With that, the trio took off and went to pick up their cargo.

***

Inara, Kaylee, and Simon sat in the mess, sharing a drink. Inara had made tea for her and Simon and Kaylee contented herself with a bottle of water. Though they didn't say anything along those lines, they were all very worried about what River had done. They wondered if they'd pushed her too far too fast. River had been doing so much better, but they worried that she wasn't ready to take so big a step. Rushing off like that into a crowded area, even when she wasn't a fugitive any longer, and to someone who wasn't trustworthy…it worried them a great deal.

"So, Kaylee, when are you going to ask Mal to take you back home so Simon can meet your family?" Inara asked.

Simon went pale.

"Oh, I'm sure I'll get around to it sooner or later. Ain't no need to put us out of our way. Simon'll meet my folks sooner or later, right Simon?"

Simon gave a non-committal sort of 'hmm.' Kaylee frowned.

"What's wrong? Doncha wanna meet my folks?"

"I…of course I do, Kaylee. But it's like you said, no rush." Simon tried for smile and failed miserably.

"I don't believe you!" Kaylee exclaimed, hurt.

"Believe me, Kaylee," Simon said quietly. "It's not what you think." He stood and walked away, shutting himself off in the infirmary.

"Sometimes I just don't understand him." Kaylee lamented.

"It will all work out, _Mei mei_." Inara said soothingly.

"I sure hope you're right. Finally got that boy to propose and I don't want him screwing it up." She slumped over her crossed arms, resting her head on the table.

"Oh, Kaylee." Inara said, gently stroking Kaylee's hair.

***  
Jayne took his usual path to Miss Ruth's, his favorite cathouse on Persephone. He was in a foul mood for reasons he didn't want to think on too hard. _Ain't no use dwellin' on it. Ain't like it's ever gonna change._

He arrived and nearly let out a sigh of relief. He entered the business, grateful that the 24-hour establishment had a structure that always allowed for play, given that Miss Ruth's girls worked on shifts so that the girls weren't stuck working dawn until dusk and getting run ragged. If it were otherwise, Jayne wouldn't have bothered with the place; he didn't take the mistreatment of women lightly, given that he had two sisters, not to mention a few nieces.

He saw Miss Ruth working the bar and he let out the first real smile he'd had all day. She smiled back at him and nodded to the room, letting him know that he had his pick. He didn't really get the chance, however. A whore approached him first.

She was tall and buxom, with the kind of curves that he could grip and run his hands over. Her hair was pretty shade of dark blond and extremely curly. She had pretty blue eyes and an even prettier smile. He was definitely interested.

"What's yer name?" He asked, taking in the sight of her.

"Darlene," She answered. "What's yours?"

"Jayne." He said. "Might as well tell ya, Darlene, I ain't a nice man and I'm in a powerful bad mood." He smiled grimly as he let her know what she would be getting herself into.

"That's fine with me, 'cause I ain't a nice girl and I can handle bad moods." She was eyeing him much the same way he was eyeing her.

"Yes, I do." He said. "What's your price?"

She told him very matter-of-factly and he smiled.

"If yer as good as ya say, then I ain't got a problem paying that." He said.

She smiled widely and took his hand, leading him to a back room that was very clean and built for comfort. He took off his boots and socks. "I don't kiss on the mouth." He warned.

She gave a throaty laugh as she started to pull his shirt out of his pants. "I don't either."

They took their time undressing each other, occasionally talking but mostly just wanting to get to the touchy-grabby-groping part of things. When they finally made it to the bed and she kissed her way down his body, he gave a strangled moan and let go, freeing his mind of all the troubles he had and losing his self in the moment.

***

"They call this _go se_ art?" Lilah questioned. "Looks like it was done by a pack of blind sheep."

"Well, we ain't here to critique it, we're here to load it up and haul it. Lookin' forward to goin' back to Bellephron, Zoe?"

"Yes, Sir. And hopin' that there's a better chance you won't end up naked in the desert again." Zoe said as she lifted up a painting and carefully loaded it into the large crate on the back of the mule.

"I'm assuming there's a story behind that?" Lilah questioned.

"Nothin' terribly interesting." Mal insisted.

"Woman got the better of him and made him strip, leaving him alone in the desert. It was when we stole the Lassiter." Zoe answered.

"The Lassiter? The very first laser pistol? That thing had to be worth a fortune."

"If we ever manage to fence it." Mal muttered. "Damn thing wasn't worth that much trouble."

"You ain't fenced it yet? What? You're just sitting on it?" Lilah asked, identifying the next painting and gently placing it with the others in the crates.

"We're considering our options. Ain't no need to rush a thing like this, Ms. Linn."

"You mean you can't find a buyer for it."

"Pretty much." Zoe said.

"I'm sure someone will turn up sooner or later."

"Here's hoping. The extra coin would be nice." Mal said.

They finished their work, locking up the warehouse when they were done and heading back to the ship. The talk turned to dinner options, given that there seemed little point in cooking when two of their number was elsewhere. Zoe actually suggested eating out, and to her and Lilah's surprise, Mal agreed.

"We'll round up what's left of us petty crooks and have dinner that don't consist of protein, protein, and more protein."

***

Badger and River sat in a cozy little restaurant, one of the nicer ones on Persephone near the Eavesdown Docks. They were finishing up their meal and talking amicably about the upcoming ballet. Badger wasn't nearly as bad as River had thought he would be. He certainly wasn't her dream man, but he was nice enough to talk to.

Badger was currently talking to her about Dyton and his hometown. River was so wrapped up in his story that when she spoke, she forgot her accent. Her eyes went wide at her blunder and she cursed herself when she realized that he had caught her.

"Not off of Dyton, are you, Precious?" He said, still smiling.

"No, I'm not."

"Figured it out about a week after we first met. Imagine my surprise when a fresh warrant for you and your brother's arrest came over the Cortex and I recognized you. The Alliance's most wanted – on the boat of Malcolm Reynolds. I'm impressed, actually. That was a fair bit of acting you did." He chuckled.

"The warrants aren't valid anymore. There's no reward." River said quietly, somewhat wary.

"What would be the point of turning in someone I like?" Badger asked. "Besides, it ain't a good thing to cross Mal Reynolds, I learned my lesson the last time I did that."

"Then why go along with the whole ruse?" River asked. "I don't understand."

"It was worth it just to see the looks on all their faces. And I ended up with someone to go to the ballet with."

"We're still going?" River asked, amazed. "You really enjoy it?"

Badger chuckled. "Yeah, we're still going. It'd be a pity to have the tickets and not use them. Besides, you're pretty and you amuse me. Not a lot of people in the 'Verse who can amuse me."

River smiled shyly. "I love the ballet. What one are they performing?"

"It's called _Giselle_. It's one of my favorites." He answered while looking at his pocket watch. "As a matter of fact, we'd better get going if we're not going to be late. Did you get enough to eat?"

"Yes, dinner was delicious. Thank you very much. We can leave if you are ready."

***

River was enthralled with the ballet. _Giselle_ was actually one of the few ballets that she had never seen or danced in. The story was so beautiful and bittersweet. She imagined what it might be like to dance the part of _Giselle_. The lead ballerina's technique was near flawless and her emotions shone through on her face.

She looked to her side. Badger was actually on the edge of his seat, resting his arms on the rail of the balcony where their box was. He was watching the performance intently, a slight smile on his face.

They broke for the intermission between the two acts and River gave a wistful sigh. Badger excused himself for a moment and soon returned with a glass of water for each of them.

"So, what do you think so far?"

"It's lovely. And it's so sad."

"I've always thought so. The entire thing of it, the grace and the charm and the beauty of the dancing and the music…it's enchanting. It should be starting again any moment now."

They turned back to face the stage and held their breath as the second act resumed and were swept away by the story.

***

The rest of the crew, sans Jayne sat around a large round table in a quiet little restaurant that Inara had suggested. They were as relaxed as they could be with the circumstances that they were in. Simon was staring at the plate in front of him with an expression that could only be called bewilderment.

"What is this, exactly?" He asked Lilah, who was sitting on his other side.

"It's food, Mr. Top Three Percent." She said, looking at him as if he were very strange.

"Food?" He asked, eyeing the strange food in front of him dubiously.

"Yep. Chicken that's been sliced into strips, coated in batter and deep-fried until there's zero nutritional value left. And in case you were wondering, the stuff in the little bowl next to them is honey mustard. You dip the chicken strip into the mustard, and then you eat it." She said, smirking at him.

"Thank you for explaining." Simon said wryly. "Hopefully I'll be able to wrap my little mind around such a big idea."

"You never ate food like this before?" Zoe asked, amazed. "Never?"

"My mother would have had conniptions. We were both on permanent diets, River especially, since she was a girl. Nothing was ever fried and our kitchen access was strictly monitored. And after I left their house I suppose it never occurred to me to break the eating patterns I'd grown up with. I'd never even had protein until I came aboard _Serenity_. This is completely new to me." He said, and he was struck by how pathetic he must have sounded.

"Well then, Dr. Tam, no time like the present." Mal said, smirking. "Might as well try it. I promise, if the overdose of fat kills you, I'll speak pretty, _pretty_ words at your funeral."

Looking suspicious, Simon picked up one of the chicken strips, dipped it into the yellow sauce, and took a bite. He chewed slowly, closing his eyes. A blissful look went across his face as he swallowed. He smiled widely.

"It tastes so good." He half-moaned, amazed.

"Welcome to the food of the common folk." Mal said.

Kaylee laughed, the first sign of happiness she'd shown since she'd gotten into that little spat with Simon earlier that day. And, hoping to give Simon a reason to look forward to be meeting her family, she spoke to him.

"My Mamma cooks food like this at home all the time. Last time we stopped by my folks' place, there was this huge spread of all sorts of good food. I was half sure that Jayne wasn't ever going to leave the table." She said, and she, Mal, and Zoe shared a laugh at the memory.

Simon smiled slightly, but didn't comment. Kaylee's cheerful demeanor deflated a bit, and she excused herself to the restroom. Looking concerned, Lilah and Zoe followed her.

"What in your dear and fluffy lord's name has gotten into ya, Doc? I thought your days of hurtin' her feelings were over with. I recall a certain conversation that said as much."

"She thinks I don't want to meet her parents, and she's got it all wrong. I do want to meet them, it's just…"

"It's just what, Simon?" Inara prompted.

"It's hard to explain."

"Well then, you'd best find a way to explain it to her then, 'cause I ain't gonna stand by while she's all miserable."

"I will, I promise, I just…I have to figure out how to explain it to her." Simon said.

***

Kaylee was wiping her eyes in the ladies' room. Zoe and Lilah were doing their best to comfort her.

"Is he ashamed of me, or somethin'?" She asked, miserably. "I know I ain't fancy or nothin', but I'm not a complete heathen. I have good folks! We're a good family where I come from!" She said.

"Kaylee, no man ever wants to meet his girlfriend's or fiance's parents. It's a man thing. Wendell was terrified of meeting mine." Lilah assured her. "Not that I blamed him, really." She added rather blandly.

"She ain't lyin', Kaylee." Zoe agreed. "Wash was extremely relieved when he found out that my folks were dead and he wouldn't have to meet them."

"Really?"

"Yepper. Remember that week when I wouldn't speak a word to him?" Kaylee nodded, obviously remembering. "That was why."

"Kaylee, a person's family is a powerful thing. One word given by a mother or a father or a brother or sister, or any member of the family could change a girl's mind. Some men get scared that they won't measure up to her family's expectations. It's nerves."

"He told me that it wasn't what I thought." She insisted. "What other reason could he have?"

"I'm not sure, Kaylee, but he'll tell you, when he's ready. Just be patient." Zoe counseled.

"He loves you, Kaylee." Lilah insisted. "He loves you and he would do anything for you."

"He does love me, doesn't he?"

"There ain't a doubt in all our minds." Zoe said.

***

Jayne lay on the comfortable bed, calm and satiated. It was as if all of the tension that had been swirling around inside of him had melted away. He hadn't been so relaxed since…he couldn't remember when.

"Feel up to another go-round?" Darlene asked, sitting up on one elbow and looking at him suggestively. Her hair was in wild disarray, something that he took full credit for. Her eyes were twinkling and he couldn't help but grin.

"I surely do, but I gotta be gettin' back to my ship." He said.

"Do you really have to go?" She asked, as he stood up and began collecting his clothing.

"Yep. Captain ain't gonna be too happy if I'm late." He started to dress, looking at her while he did it.

"And now your body is covered up. That's a shame. I got the feeling that it liked _not_ being covered up." She smiled and let the sheet fall away, causing him to nearly groan as he bent to pull on his socks.

"Yeah, well, next time I get the chance, I'll come back." He said.

"Please do."

Smiling, he left the money on her dresser, her fee plus a hefty tip. She'd earned it.

"Thanks, Darlene. Ain't felt this good a long, long time."

"You are very welcome, Jayne." She said, laying back on the bed and sighing.

He hated to leave.

***

I hope you enjoy! Questions, comments, and constructive criticism are greatly appreciated!


	4. Part IV

**Disclaimer**: Firefly, Serenity, and all related characters are copyright 2002-2005 Mutant Enemy, Inc., Universal Pictures, and 20th Century Fox. This is a work of fanfiction. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Summary**: Mal, Zoe, Jayne, Lilah, and Monty pay a quiet little visit to an Alliance-friendly bar on Unification Day.

**Still Flying: Part IV**

* * *

Mal and company waited in the cargo bay. Simon was pacing, waiting on River to get back. Kaylee was nowhere to be seen, having taken off straight for the engine room. Mal just wanted his two errant crew members back on ship so they could leave and do their job.

Badger and River finally showed up and it was all Simon and Mal could do to not rush River and start checking her for bodily harm.

"See, Captain Reynolds, I told you I'd have her back in one piece. Nothing to fret about." Badger said, smugly.

"Thanks for the lovely evening." River said, mimicking his accent.

"Any time you want, Lovie." Badger said. "Well then, I'm guessing you have a job to do now, right?"

"We surely do. How's about you take yourself off and let us get to it?" Mal said tightly.

"Will do." He turned to River, kissing her hand. "Until next time, Lovie." He smiled, and then left.

"Are we ready to go?" River asked Mal, in her normal voice.

"We're just waiting on Jayne to get back now." He sounded somewhat irritated. "You okay? He didn't hurt your anything, did he? He kept his hands to himself, right?"

River rolled her eyes and looked at Mal as if he were an idiot.

"I'm fine. It was a nice evening. If he'd tried to hurt me he would be dead." She said. "I can take care of myself."

"Don't you go rolling your eyes at me like that. You put this crew through a lot of worry, sneaking off like that. I don't want this happening again, _dong ma_? You're growing up, and there ain't a one of us who are gonna fault you for that, but even if those warrants are defunct now, there are still people in this 'Verse who want you back in that Academy. You'd better go and see to your brother. He's been beside himself since you took off." Mal said.

River hung her head and dutifully walked to the infirmary, Simon following her.

"Just don't know what I'm going to do with that girl." Mal muttered.

The rest dispersed; Jayne knew how to take care of his self and he'd get back to the ship just fine. Mal waited though, wanting to make sure that Jayne wasn't going to be in a foul mood during the week it would take to reach Bellephron. Usually Jayne's little visits to certain establishments that Mal avoided took care of his foul moods, but Jayne hadn't been acting quite right for a while.

* * *

Jayne was whistling to his self as he made his way back to the ship. He had at least another half an hour before he had to be back, but he figured that there wasn't any point in delaying the crew and irritating Mal. _'Sides, I could use a good night's rest after the day I had. Woman done wore me out._

Coming up to the ship, he noticed that Mal was waiting for him. He sighed. He hoped that Mal didn't have a stick up his ass or anything. Dealing with an irritated Mal was exhausting and not very high on his things to-do list.

"Y'all right there, Mal?" He called as he came up the ramp.

"Yeah, I'm shiny. How about you?" Mal asked. "Get whatever it was that was buggin' ya out of your system?"

Jayne smiled. "Yeah, I'm feeling pretty good right now."

Mal tired his best not to grimace – Jayne's penchant for whores wasn't any great secret.

"Good. We'll be heading to Bellephron now. Last thing I want is my crew in bad-" He was cut off by Lilah over the com system.

"Captain, you have a wave from Monty. He'd like to speak with you."

"Jayne, lock the ship up. We'll be leaving shortly." Mal took off for the bridge and Jayne did as he was told and closed up the ship, still whistling.

* * *

Mal came up to the bridge to find Lilah and Monty in the middle of a spirited discussion. He cleared his throat, wanting to interrupt.

"Oh, Captain, you're here. Well then, I'll just leave you two to talk." Lilah said, getting up.

"Don't go too far. We gotta be on our way to Bellephron." Mal said.

"I already have the course set to be laid in. Just let me know when to come back." She left, closing the bridge doors.

Mal sat down in the pilot's chair and focused on the screen before him. Monty's jovial face stared back at him.

"Monty! How've you been? Everything going well?"

"I'm good. Things are going well and I can't complain." Monty said. "How's she doing?"

"Lilah? We've had an issue or two, but we're hoping that it's all behind us." Mal said. "She caused a big stir about a few weeks back."

"Oh? She didn't break Jayne's hands or nothing, did she?" Monty asked.

"No, it had to do with Wash."

"What did Wash have to do with it?"

"Apparently he flew for the Independents during the War. He was in Lilah's squadron. We uh, we didn't take to well to that news."

"Wash? Flew for the Browncoats? He always said he didn't have anything to do with the war. Why would he lie about that?" Monty asked, confused.

"We don't rightly know. But it caused a stir and Zoe kind of lost control and gave Lilah quite a shiner. We had her tied up and everything before we cleared it all up."

"Huh."

"You're telling me. I still don't think that Zoe's quite over it yet."

"She took a shiner from Zoe and she's still on the ship? Wouldn't have figured that."

"She's something else, alright." Mal said. "And the woman knows how to fly, there ain't a doubt about that."

"Did I here you say you were off to Bellephron?"

"You certainly did. Got a shipment of art we're supposed to be delivering in the next week and a half."

"Think you can spare a few hours one day next week? I know of a quiet little bar on Aberdeen and I'd love to stop and have a drink with you and Zoe. I got a few crew what would love to have a drink too."

Mal pondered his words before a wide smile broke across his face.

"I suppose we can manage a few hours. I reckon Zoe wouldn't mind. Or Lilah, for that matter. And we all know that Jayne's usually up for a good drink in a nice bar."

Monty grinned. "This coming Thursday, then?"

"Oh, you can count on it."

"Good."

Mal suddenly remembered something that he had to talk to Monty about.

"Monty?"

"Yeah?"

"Why did you tell Lilah that River was a Reader? It ain't exactly the kind of thing that we want broadcasted."

Monty sighed.

"She heard you and Zoe joking about it when we were last on Persephone. She asked and I couldn't rightly not let her know. Lyin' ain't exactly the best way to begin a new relationship, Mal. If she hadn't asked, I wouldn't have said a word, but she did and I couldn't lie to her. Why? Did she make trouble?"

"No, she didn't seem to mind at all, but she did put an end to any notion I might have had about having River read her. I was just upset that you'd told her, but I understand why you did. Some people would have left, knowing that there was a person onboard who could read their minds, but she didn't seem to care. She just made it obvious that she really didn't want River poking around in her head."

"I figured that she'd be a good fit for you all. You ain't getting sweet on her, are ya Mal?" Monty asked.

"Oh, no. Ain't nothin' like that between the two of us. I like her just fine, but in no way do I feel the slightest bit of sexual interest in Lilah." Mal said sincerely.

"I suppose that's a blessing. Woman would run you ragged in under a month. Plus Inara would probably have both your heads." Monty chuckled.

"Inara don't seem to like her too much." Mal agreed. "She still hasn't warmed up to her."

"Girls will be girls." Monty advised.

"Yeah. There's an awful lot of women on my boat right now." Mal lamented.

"Well, at least Jayne's butch enough for three men all own his own."

"That ain't wrong. So, see you on Thursday? You can send Lilah the coordinates and everything. She's good with that."

"Will do. Take care, Mal, and tell Zoe that I said hi."

"Yepper."

The wave ended and Mal sat back, smiling. He was in a good mood now. He was going to go and bother Inara.

* * *

Inara was just finishing up with another wave to her House Mistress back on Sihnon. Everything seemed to be going according to plan and Inara was tentatively hopeful. She still hadn't told anyone what was going on; she didn't want to show her hand too soon. Sooner or later she was going to be found out and she wasn't sure how she was going to handle that. She needed more time.

"Inara?"

_Mal._

Inara steeled herself and took a deep breath.

"Please, come in."

Mal did so, looking for all the 'Verse like he'd just been appointed the ruler of Londinium.

"What brings you to my shuttle, Mal? Would you like some tea?"

"Oh, just figured that it'd been a while since we chatted. Tea? I could do tea."

"Then please sit and make yourself at home."

"Will do." Mal was rather proud of himself for not mentioning that it _was_ his home, technically – he owned the shuttle, after all.

He watched her as she moved gracefully around her shuttle and he couldn't help but admire her. Every move she made had purpose and every move she made was beautiful. It was nearly hypnotizing, the way she moved.

"Mal. Mal. MAL!"

"I'm sorry, what?" Mal asked, shaking himself out of his reverie.

"You take two sugars, correct?" Inara smiled.

"Yepper." He watched as she poured his tea and added the sugar. Her hands moved delicately, almost complementing the fine china which she was holding with utmost care. She handed him his cup.

"Thank you."

"You are welcome. Is everything alright with River? I've been very worried about her."

"I reckon she'll be okay. I just…I can't understand why she'd go and do something like that. I don't know…maybe it was the draw of something from her old life or maybe she just wanted to be useful. I don't rightly care how bad off we are, there ain't no need for her to go and put herself out like that. The idea of her going and talking with Badger just kind of makes me more than a little upset in the stomach."

"It's understandable. He's not a very nice man."

"But you didn't see him, Inara. You didn't see them in his office. He gave her an apple and he touched her bare arms and he was smiling at her like she hung every star in the sky. It's as if he's…_sweet_ on her or something."

"He did take her to dinner and the ballet. And when he brought her back he treated her with perfect courtesy. He was almost a gentleman about it. But the way he behaved, their body language in general, it was more…friendly than it was romantic."

"Please tell me you ain't jokin' about that."

"I'm almost positive, Mal."

"If I still thought that God was worth thankin' I'd be thankin' him right about now." Mal said. "So, the Guild still okay with your little break from business?"

"As a matter of fact, yes. I was speaking with my House Mistress before you came in. They've been extremely supportive. This isn't the first time a Companion has taken such a leave. They understand far better than I could have hoped."

"Are you ever going to…get back to work?" Mal asked awkwardly.

"I…I don't know." Inara answered. "I can't say right now, Mal. I just…regardless of what happens, I need time to myself."

"I can respect that."

"I'm assuming that we're on our way to Bellephron now?" Inara asked, daintily sipping her tea.

"Yeah. We'll be making a brief stop on Aberdeen on Thursday. Monty'll be in the area and we're going to meet at a bar he knows of." Mal smiled.

"Indeed." Inara commented dryly.

"It ain't what you're thinkin', Inara. It's just going to be a few friends getting together for a quiet drink. Ain't a thing in the 'Verse wrong with it."

"Of course. And I'm assuming that you and Zoe will just happen to be wearing brown coats?"

"And Lilah. She'll probably be coming as well. Jayne's most likely coming too, brown coat or not. Man loves a good drink."

"So your little trio has expanded to include Lilah, then?" Inara asked, somewhat stiffly.

"Eh, I figure she'd like the chance to see Monty again. You should have seen them before I sat down to talk privately with Monty. Those two were talking up a storm."

"She did seem very fond of him. Perhaps she fit in well on Monty's ship."

"Monty likes to take in strays. And maybe she did fit in well over there, but it don't matter. She's crewing with us now and she's likely to say. She said as much herself." Mal wasn't fooled at all by Inara's tone.

"Did she? That's fortunate." Inara said blandly.

"I think so. It's nice to have a proper pilot again. Just wish you two got along better." Mal said, giving her a look.

"We get along just fine, Mal." Inara insisted.

"You two barely talk to each other. You don't trust her, you said as much yourself." Mal said, annoyed.

"I don't _know_ her." Inara said. "Once I get to know her I'm sure we'll be fine."

"Any chance of that happening any time soon?"

"Mal, she and I are both big girls. We'll do just fine without your interference."

"Just…just try to get to know her and get along with her. She's not that bad, Inara."

"I will, Mal. I will."

"Good. Don't much like it when my crew don't get along."

"I'm crew, Mal?" Inara asked, touched.

"If you want to be, yeah." Mal said, smiling warmly.

Inara smiled at that and continued to drink her tea.

* * *

Hey, Doc?"

Simon turned around at Jayne's voice. He was straightening up his infirmary to take his mind off of his sister. He surprised that Jayne had sought him out, and then remembered where Jayne had been earlier. He opened a drawer and began prepping an innoculation.

"The usual?" Simon asked.

"Oh, yeah, right." Jayne took a seat on the infirmary bed and dutifully held out his arm.

"Feeling better?"

"Yeah, a bit." Jayne answered. He did sound more relaxed than Simon had heard him in a while. "It's late, why are you still in here?"

"I needed to take my mind off of River." He felt for a vein and then swabbed a small area of Jayne's arm. Then he stuck him with the needle, and began injecting.

Jayne was silent, then,

"She get back okay?" He asked quietly.

"Yes, she's fine. At least, that's what she told us. She said it was just dinner and then the ballet and nothing bad happened."

"That's good. It's good that she's alright." Jayne murmured distractedly as Simon removed the needle and pressed a cotton ball on the still bleeding area.

"This place you went to, was it…clean?" Simon asked delicately.

"Yeah. Good clean place and the girls are treated well. Wouldn't go to it if it weren't the case."

"Jayne…have you ever, has one of the women you've ever been with-"

"I ever knocked one up?" Jayne asked. "Naw, I'm too damn careful. 'Verse is bad enough without me adding to it."

"You're sure?"

"As sure as I can be."

"And what if you had?" Simon asked.

Jayne heaved a sigh. "I probably would have settled down and done the right thing by her, if she wanted me. Why?"

"I'm just curious. I had a friend in medical school that used to take up with prostitutes. He ended up withdrawing when it came out that he'd fathered a child by one of the girls he'd been with."

"He settle down?"

"No," Simon said, sounding disapproving. "He threw a bunch of money at her and then enrolled in law school."

"Sounds like a real bastard."

"You're not wrong. I'm going to head off to bed."

"Thanks, Doc."

They departed, each occupied with his own thoughts.

* * *

Lilah was laying in the course for Bellephron when Mal came back to the bridge.

"Lilah?"

"Yeah?" She asked, not looking back.

"We need to make a brief stop on Aberdeen this Thursday. Monty'll be in the area and wants us to meet him for a drink. Think you can swing it?"

"Yeah, I can pull that."

"Good, good."

"Is that everything you needed?"

"Yep. Going to bed anytime soon?"

"Yeah. Sleep sounds amazing right now." She said with a yawn.

"Good night then." Mal said, leaving for his bunk. It had been a long day and Mal was worn out. He slept fitfully, images of River and Badger dancing around in his mind, along with visions of a darker, more hardened Wash taking orders and flying a jackrabbit, while a torn and crying Zoe sobbed, watching him take off.

* * *

When _Serenity_ sat down near the little town on Aberdeen that Monty had specified, Mal informed River that she needed to wait on the bridge, in the case that a grand entrance was needed. River looked put out that she couldn't go with Mal, Zoe, Lilah, and Jayne, but finally relented.

Mal made a quick trip to Lilah's room.

"Lilah?" He knocked on the door.

"Yes?" She called back.

"If you uh, have a brown coat with you, you might want to wear it."

"Okay, then."

Mal, Jayne, Zoe, and Lilah met in the cargo bay and headed off to the little town where Monty would be waiting. Mal, Zoe, and Lilah were all wearing their brown coats, and Jayne was wearing his usual jacket – he was just along for the prospect of a good fight.

They met Monty outside of the bar, and the group, ten in total went in, all but Jayne wearing brown coats. They ordered drinks and took a large and quiet table in the back. They sat for a couple of hours, telling stories and jokes and talking about their experience in the War.

Mal related his story of Tracy and their commanding officer's mustache. Monty, a few drinks in and feeling particularly jolly, told the story of how he and Zoe and Mal first met. Mal grumbled good-naturedly, stating that it was the flying rock's fault, not his.

"What about you, Lilah?" Dexter asked. "What was it like for you?"

"I'd rather not talk about it, Dexter, if you don't mind."

The others shared a look.

"I flew for the Browncoats and then was discharged. There's not much more to it than that." Lilah insisted.

Thankfully the tension was broken by an Alliance supporter toasting Unification Day and pissing on the Independents. Looking back, no one would quite be able to remember just how the fight started, but everyone did remember the fight itself. It was as if the bar had exploded into chaos.

A group of five men made the mistake of trying to take on Monty and by the time he had finished with them, the men were crawling towards the back door. Zoe was clubbing people with her mare's leg, occasionally giving a head-butt or two. Jayne was in his element, taking on any and all challengers. Mal and the others were throwing punches and eventually made their way outside of the bar, where somehow Mal managed to call for River to bring _Serenity_ around.

He was surprised to see Lilah getting into the fight. She fought like Zoe: hard and somewhat dirty. He briefly remembered that she had brothers and had mentioned rough-housing with the local boys while growing up.

The fight escalated to the point where the purple-bellies drew their guns on Mal and Monty's little group of Independents. And just as they were about to fire, Serenity rose into the sky behind the Independents and they heard River call

"This really isn't the best time for bravery."

Mal and Monty's group bid a lazy retreat onto _Serenity_ and Mal smiled his 'eat-shit' grin and waved merrily to the Alliance supporters. The ramp closed and Mal couldn't help but laugh..

"It ain't winning the War but it's nice to beat the livin' _go se_ out of the purple-bellies." Monty said.

"Nothin' like a good tussle." Jayne agreed.

"Where's Lesley? Wasn't he a Browncoat?" Lilah asked, looking around.

Monty sighed.

"I had to put him off ship about a week back. He was causing problems and he was acting awfully strange. He was a good worker, but I can't have attitudes on _Dorothy_. Speaking of _Dorothy_, any way you-all can drop us off? We're about a mile or so out of town." Monty said.

"Yeah, I'll get on it. It's about time I got back on the bridge." Lilah said, nodding to Monty, then Mal, and making her way up the stairs and up to the bridge.

Monty's crew was dropped off and the crew left for Bellephron, intent on making good on the lucrative deal that Badger had arranged.

* * *

I hope you enjoy! Questions, comments, and constructive criticism are greatly appreciated!


	5. Part V

**Disclaimer**: Firefly, Serenity, and all related characters are copyright 2002-2005 Mutant Enemy, Inc., Universal Pictures, and 20th Century Fox. This is a work of fanfiction. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Summary**: Things are reserved on _Serenity_, and Mal finds out that his flush new deal is a great deal more trouble than he originally thought.

**Still Flying: Part V**

* * *

The journey to Bellephron proved to be monotonous indeed, after the thrilling action of Unification Day that had been spent with Monty. It had been wonderful to see him again, to see her old almost-but-not-quite crew again. She'd felt so welcome, when she'd first met Monty and started traveling with him and it was certainly a different feeling for Lilah to be on a ship where she'd been considered a threat at best, at first.

Still, she loved her job and she was growing to love _Serenity_, just the way that River had said she needed to. There was something about the ship, about the crew that made Lilah feel as though she'd wondered into a cozy home that was always meant to house her. She briefly wondered if Leaf had perhaps felt the same way. She thought of Zoe and smiled. Leaf had certainly found his warrior woman, along with a ship and family to call his own.

"May I join you?"

Lilah looked behind her to see Zoe standing in the doorway.

"By all means."

"Is everything going okay?" Zoe asked.

"Everything is shiny, as far as I know." Lilah answered. "How about you? Are you okay?"

"I'm…I'm better. I don't blame you, you know. It was just…it was a real shock, finding that out." Zoe said. "But I'm doing better with it. He must have had his reasons, even if I don't know what they were."

"He was a good man." Lilah said quietly.

"The best." Zoe agreed. "I was…I was wondering if I could look at your album of captures? I just want to see him, how he was, before…"

"You promise not to destroy them?" Lilah asked.

Zoe eyed down Lilah, who raised an eyebrow in response. Finally Zoe sighed and nodded.

"I promise. I'll take good care of them."

"Well then, I'll go and get them for you." Before Zoe could protest say she could fetch them herself, Lilah was gone.

Zoe looked at the console where the toy dinosaurs were sitting. She could remember the first time she saw them on the bridge. It had been the day after Wash had signed on. Mal had asked when they'd taken on a five year-old and Zoe had just stared at the toys, bewildered. Wash continued placing them where he wanted them as if it were the most natural thing in the world. And it hadn't stopped there; the collection had grown as he continued crewing with her and Mal.

Lilah's addition seemed to fit right in. Zoe instinctively knew that Wash would have loved it. He was always on the lookout for new friends for his flying companions. Zoe remembered the look of pure joy on his face their first Christmas, when he'd come down to their bunk to find her completely naked on their bed, a toy stegosaurus on her toned abdomen. "Oh! A new toy on top of my favorite toy!" He'd exclaimed. And then he'd shown her why she was his favorite toy and she'd shown him why he was hers.

_I'm gonna figure it out, Wash. I'm gonna figure out why you couldn't tell me._

* * *

Lilah sorted through her album as quickly as she could, making sure that a certain series of captures was still neatly tucked away in her top dresser drawer. Those captures wouldn't be shared with anyone. The others she had no problem with the crew seeing, but the ones she had pulled out…the pain was still too fresh and too private.

She picked up the album and took it back to the bridge, placing it carefully in Zoe's waiting hands. Zoe thanked her and Lilah smiled, hopeful that any lingering bad feelings between them were over with.

* * *

Dinner seemed to be quiet and not as cheerful as usual, for some reason, Mal thought.

It might have been that Zoe seemed terribly preoccupied with something that Mal had no right to intrude upon. Or it might have been Inara and the way she kept sequestering herself away in her shuttle (his, really, he corrected himself mentally). Possibly, it might have been the thundering tension that seemed to have permanently settled itself in the air around Jayne and River, who were still ignoring each other with open hostility. It could have been Simon and Kaylee, who seemed to be in the middle of some spat that had undoubtedly been caused by something that the not-so-silver tongued Doc had said. Lilah could have also been an option, given that things simply hadn't been as simple and easy since she'd signed on.

Mal refused to believe that it was his cooking that was the reason, even if he himself could hardly stand to eat it.

He thought back to the days when Wash and Shepherd Book had been with them and recalled the jokes and stories that had flown between all of them, around the dinner table. And then Mal felt a deep pang of sadness.

He missed those days.

* * *

Mal was making a late-night round through _Serenity_ when he noticed Inara down in the cargo bay. She'd open up the crates that contained the art they were supposed to be dropping off. The several paintings were spread throughout the bay and she was moving from one to the other, looking extremely suspicious.

"Inara!" He called. "Playin' art critic?"

Inara spun around and looked up at him, a very worried look on her face.

"I think something is wrong with these paintings."

"Do you think they're fakes?"

"No, I think they are authentic, but something about them is just off."

Mal hurried down the stairs, intent on finding out what she meant. She motioned for him to come to one of the paintings and he did so. She knocked on the large ornate frame a few times. It sounded hollow.

"What does this mean?" Mal asked, knocking on the large frame as well.

"It means that you're smuggling, and that for once it's not on purpose."

"How did you figure it out?" Mal asked. "How did you know to look at the art?"

"I just wanted to see the art, and so I came down here to look at it. I was curious as to what would fetch so high a price. And when I took the paintings out, I couldn't help but notice the frames." She said.

"The frames?" Mal asked, still confused.

"Yes, the frames. No one who knew anything about art would have ever fitted these frames to these paintings. A frame shouldn't overpower the work; it should complement it and bring out its best features. These frames are so large and ornate and the paintings are so simplistic that no real artist or art critic would ever match them up. And smuggling illegal goods in art frames isn't exactly a new and exciting way to do crime." She smiled up at him.

"Wanna help me find out what we have the misfortune of smuggling?"

"Of course; I'm starting to like this life of petty crime."

Mal gingerly started to take the frame off of the painting and pulled away an inside strip on the wood, revealing a hollow area. Numerous tiny, little clear bags fell out as the strip was removed. Mal picked one up, surveying the red liquid inside.

"What are they?" Inara questioned.

"On the black market they call them sleepers."

Mal and Inara turned around to see Simon standing behind them.

"Sleepers?"

"Yes. Just a few drops of that liquid is enough to send anyone into a fast, quiet, painless death, as if the victim just fell asleep and didn't wake up. It's almost impossible to trace and it's extremely illegal. The penalty for just being linked to this stuff is a minimum of 15 years on a penal moon. The Alliance didn't take well to its medical secrets being stolen." Simon explained. "I'm actually surprised that the buyer is paying so little. It's notoriously expensive on the black market."

"We have to get rid of this stuff." Mal said seriously. "I don't deal in drugs." He paused. "'Cept for that time we stole the healthful, wholesome drugs from that hospital."

One by one the trio opened the frames and released the illegal goods onto the cold metal floor. Mal was furious with himself for trusting Badger and even more furious with the buyer on Bellephron. This job had seemed flush at first, and now he was regretting taking it on with every second that passed.

"That buyer asks, ain't a one of us knew anything about it. We're gonna dump these, put those wood strips back on the inside of those frames, and we're gonna re-frame those paintings. And then we're going to make the deal. Buyer won't be able to say a word, because all she ever mentioned was the art. She can't admit to smuggling drugs, and neither can Badger. He ain't a good man, but he don't deal in drugs; it's one of the very few reasons I still do business with him."

"Agreed." Simon said. "But we can't pour it down our drains. It'll mix in with our water supply and it'll kill us all. We space it, the same way we spaced those pirates."

"Why can't things ever go smooth? Finally get a flush job and it turns out to be a drug smuggling trip." He kicked a nearby crate and ran a hand over his face.

"It wasn't your fault, Mal. It's the artist's fault and the buyer's fault, most likely. Badger wouldn't have dealt with either of them if he knew that drugs were involved, and neither would we. This is just an unfortunate mishap."

"Drugs that can kill with just a few drops? Where does that get fun? Putting folk down like dogs ain't right." Mal said wearily. "It's…"

"I'm wondering if it's related to the Pax that they pumped into the atmosphere of Miranda. It's not entirely unlikely that it could be highly concentrated liquid form of it." Inara said. "The Alliance created that too and it would explain why they impose such harsh penalties for simply being connected to it."

"I am not liking this situation at all. Be a damn relief to get these damn paintings to the buyer on Bellephron. Why did it have to be drugs?" Mal didn't want to contemplate a drug even worse than the Pax - it was simply too horrifying.

"You have to stop blaming yourself, Mal." Inara said, taking the frame off of another painting and removing the smuggled drugs from the hollow areas.

Simon followed Inara's example and got to work on another painting. More and more little bags of drugs fell out. Some had powder and others had little caplets. They finally had a little pile of the extremely illegal drugs on the cargo bay floor and Mal began sweeping them over to the middle of the floor, where they usually dumped useless scrap that Kaylee deemed unusable. He opened up the panels and swept the numerous bags in, before sealing the panels back up and then moving over to the main airlock to open the second airlock on _Serenity_'s belly and rid them of the items that his crew just didn't deal with.

"There had to be an absolute fortune in those frames." Simon said. "Enough to have set anyone on their own little private moon with all the luxuries they could ever imagine. Good thing it's not worth it, sinking down to that level."

"You ain't wrong, Doc." Mal said wearily. "You ain't wrong. We'd better get these frames back in order."

They got back to work re-framing and putting the paintings back into their crate. Mal was grateful that it was impossible to tell that the goods had been tampered with.

It was with heavy hearts and worried minds that Mal, Inara, and Simon went to bed. Each couldn't help but wonder why it was that the worst situations always seemed to follow them wherever they went. Just when things had started to look up and seem smooth, a wrench was thrown into the cogs and everything threatened to come crashing down.

* * *

I hope you enjoy! Questions, comments, and constructive criticism are greatly appreciated!


	6. Part VI

**Disclaimer**: Firefly, Serenity, and all related characters are copyright 2002-2005 Mutant Enemy, Inc., Universal Pictures, and 20th Century Fox. This is a work of fanfiction. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Summary**: Mal and Zoe complete the job, with interesting results, while a bored River finds a way to occupy herself.

**Still Flying: Part VI**

**

* * *

  
**

Arriving on Bellephron was a relief to Mal. So far no one but he, Inara, and Simon knew the secret behind the paintings. He was also damn curious as to what this buyer was really like. He just didn't understand the appeal of illegal drugs or the people who bought sold them.

"We've been given clearance to land, Captain." Lilah informed him as he came up to the bridge. "This place is breath-taking; and more than a little sad." She said, cocking her head and looking out at the view of the couple dozen floating estates.

"What makes ya think it's sad?" Mal asked.

"These people, they're so removed from the world and all that's in it, shutting themselves away in luxury and wealth. They're doing everything but actually living." She said. "And that's sad."

"Never really thought of it like that, but there's an amount of truth in there." Mal said. "How goes the progress on River's socks?" He asked.

Lilah pulled out her project and held it up, before reaching back down into the bag and pulling out an already completed sock. "It's coming along nicely." She said, smiling.

"Well, once you get us landed at the exchange site you can get back to being domestic." Mal said. "We got us a job to finish."

"I'm getting to it," Lilah said. "Just had to get clearance first. It's not exactly easy to get near this area."

"Wash used to call it the home of the rich and the paranoid." Mal said with a chuckle.

"He wasn't wrong."

* * *

"Where's Crazy?" Jayne asked. "Ain't she coming with us?"

"Actually, no. This is a simple enough job. And the last time she took off when we weren't exactly airborne is still fresh in my mind. And it's just Zoe and I on this job, Jayne. We'll be fine."

"You sure, Mal?" Jayne pushed.

"Jayne, go and be productive." Mal said, he and Zoe each took a handle on the crate and carried out of cargo bay. Jayne was standing in the bay, watching him leave.

"Aww, cheer up Jayne. Ain't like things went well enough for you the last time we was here." Kaylee said cheerfully. "Ya done got all shocked up. This time you'll be shock-free."

Jayne nodded vaguely and left for the mess, intent on finding something to eat.

* * *

River scowled as she felt Mal and Zoe leave the ship. She had wanted to go with them. She wanted to feel the air on her face and know what it was like to fly on the ground with the sky above her and the ocean below her. Her captain was still upset with her, with what she had done.

She had wanted to help. And she had also wanted to be a real girl again. She didn't feel romantic attraction to Badger anymore than he felt romantic attraction for her. She'd amused him and he'd amused her and they'd ended up having a laugh and a nice evening at Malcolm Reynolds's expense. She'd felt _real_ and she'd had a good time. She didn't want to feel sorry for that, though she was sorry that she'd somewhat lied to her captain.

She was so incredibly _bored_. Her mind was racing with nothing to do and the more she sat idle the harder it was to filter her mind. She remembered the ballet and how she'd been riveted and completely focused on the performance. And then, she had an idea.

She started rummaging through her drawers until she found what she was looking for. She pulled out a tight tank top that she had purchased and a pair of black leggings that she'd managed to sneak past Inara. Removing a box from under her bed, she opened it to find Simon's gift to her for her eighteenth birthday: a pair of ballet slippers that he had somehow managed to find in an old store on Persephone.

She had smiled delightedly when he had given them to her, originally intending to place them over her bed, before she'd had a nightmare that night where she was back in the Academy and told she wasn't a girl, wasn't a human being. She was told that she was just a weapon. Just a thing, with no feelings. She'd stuck the box underneath her bed and had pushed it from her mind.

But now the slippers could help her keep her mind and she would wear them. She dressed quickly, finding a pretty gauzy kind of scarf to tie around her waist. She walked barefoot to Inara's shuttle and knocked, slippers in hand.

Inara bid her come in. River did so and asked without preamble

"May I please borrow your cortex tablet?"

"Of course. May I inquire as to why?" Inara said, opening a drawer next to her bed and pulling the thin tablet out.

"I wish to play music in the cargo bay. It's the only area big enough." River said.

"For what?"

River simply held up her ballet slippers, then noticed her hair.

"Do you also have something I can use to pull my hair back?"

Inara nodded, going and fetching an elastic band, which River accepted with thanks.

"I will return these when I am done with them." River told Inara, leaving.

Inara smiled gracefully, puzzled by River's demeanor.

River walked down to the cargo bay, grateful that she was alone. She set the table down on a crate and sat down to begin pulling on her slippers. They were broken in, but River decided that she would have to change the padding in the toes to better accommodate her feet. She laced them up almost reverently and then stood, inhaling and exhaling deeply.

She began warming up, working her way through all the exercises that she could recall from her childhood when her favorite thing to do was dance. She thrilled with the knowledge that she could feel her muscles warming and stretching and moving like a real girl's would. After a half an hour of warm-ups, she pulled her hair back out of her face and into a tight bun. She began searching on the cortex for the music she wanted, and after she had compiled a suitable list, she turned the volume up, took her place in the middle of the cargo bay, and began to dance.

* * *

Mal and Zoe ended up traveling clear across the floating estate after being told by Mrs. Wu's butler that Mrs. Wu was on the other side of the estate, working in her gardens. Mal had nearly sighed in frustration; he just wanted this job to be over.

The walk across the estate took nearly an hour; they were told to leave the crate, and Mal was grateful that he'd thought to lock up the crate containing the paintings. The estate was nearly as luxurious as Duran Haymer's had been, but with many more gardens full of exotic flowers that Mal hadn't known existed. Whoever this Mrs. Wu was, she certainly loved flowers and plants.

Shiloh Wu turned out to be a short, elderly woman who had a fondness for large straw hats with ribbons. Her hat looked ridiculous on her, but Mal had come to learn that the rich and the powerful were also the strange and the odd. She also appeared incredibly kind and sweet, and when she asked Mal to walk her back to her mansion, he couldn't help but smile and do as she asked.

"I'm not a big collector of art," She said. "My passion in life is my gardening. I look out my windows and I see all the art in the world on my estate. These paintings are for my grandson, for his birthday. He's a collector and when he mentioned that he was eyeing some paintings from artists on Persephone, I couldn't help but buy them for him."

She smiled brightly at Mal and Zoe.

"Would you like to come in for some pie?" She asked suddenly, while they were walking.

"Beg pardon?" Mal asked.

"Pie. Would you and Miss Zoe like some pie?"

"Er, no, thank you. I'm trying to cut back." Mal said awkwardly.

"How about you, Dearie?" She asked Zoe, who looked as calm as she always did.

"No thank you, but it's kind of you to offer."

"Would you like to view your shipment?" Mal asked, hoping to get back to business.

"Yes, I believe I would." She said, smiling as she nodded to the doorman who promptly opened the door to large mansion that sat on the estate.

She squealed with delight when the paintings were revealed and hurried away for a few moments, coming back with a black leather bag that contained their pay. She went back to looking at each one and pointing out her favorite things while Mal and Zoe nodded politely, trying not to look too uncomfortable.

"Of course, the frames will have to go. They're absolutely hideous, but I have a few that I can spare to the cause." She winked outrageously at Mal who couldn't help but smile back. Elderly Mrs. Wu was like a child on a sugar rush who was told that she could have an extra piece of candy. "My grandson is going to be so pleased." She exclaimed.

"Would you like help with the re-framing?" Mal asked solicitously.

"Well, if you could take them off and put them in the garbage, I'll have the hideous things incinerated at once." Mrs. Wu said. "I'll re-frame them myself later tonight; it'll be a little pet project. I have to keep myself spry or I'm no good to anyone."

Mal nearly let out a sigh of utmost relief. His expression did not go unnoticed by Zoe, who gave him a look that informed him that he and she would be having words later. He nodded slightly and he and Zoe made short work of stripping the frames and disposing of them in the automated garbage system.

Mrs. Wu was beaming proudly at them and shook their hands multiple times. Then, looking as if she'd had a brilliant idea, she told them to wait right where they were for just a minute and hurried off.

"Zoe?"

"Yes, Sir?" Zoe asked, weary of the playful tone of his voice.

"That stuff she's got to be on that makes her act like she's twelve again?"

"What about it?"

"I think I want some." Mal said innocently.

"Consider it noted, Sir." Zoe said, restraining herself from smacking him upside the head.

Mrs. Wu reappeared, carrying several square white boxes. She placed them in Mal's arms, smiling widely.

"Here are some pies for you. I know you said that you're trying to cut back, but all boys love pie." She said, sounding for all the world like she was a grandmother to him. "There's pecan and pumpkin and chocolate and apple and strawberry and peach and sugar crème and banana crème and blueberry and I even threw in a cheesecake for you. And they're all made from scratch. Just make sure that you don't ruin your appetites. It's important to have a good diet." She added sternly.

Mal assured her that they would be very diligent with the pies and their diets while Zoe nodded firmly.

She thanked them again enthusiastically and finally escorted them to the door.

"Can you uh, give me a hand with these?" Mal asked Zoe, who rolled her eyes and took half of the boxes. "So damn glad this job is over."

"And why is that, Sir?" Zoe asked, looking at him suspiciously.

"I'll tell you once we get back on ship."

"You'd better."

* * *

While the music that had drawn the others to the cargo bay, it was River who made them stay. A sad bittersweet tune was playing and River was dancing with near flawless technique. There wasn't a crew member who wasn't captivated by the sight.

Simon was smiling sadly as he caught glimpses of the fourteen year old girl he knew his sister would never be again. She was as graceful as ever and his heart ached for the young woman his sister had not been allowed to grow into. He looked down as Kaylee took his hand and leaned against him, squeezing gently and keeping her eyes on River.

Lilah stood quietly watching her. She reminded Lilah deeply of her brother Alexander and Lilah wondered if Alexander and River would have ever crossed paths had the Alliance not intervened. They would have made quite a pair if they had danced together.

Jayne and Inara were watching her as well. Inara was smiling widely as River dipped and twirled with an invisible partner, her body melting into the music in ways Inara had never seen.

"She's very talented," Inara whispered to Jayne. "She could have had a brilliant career as a dancer if hadn't gone to the Academy."

"'S pretty an' all, but ruttin' useless. Ain't much use for dancin' 'round like an idjit out in the Black, 'Nara." Jayne said gruffly.

"I don't think she's just dancing," Inara said, still watching River as the music changed to something much more militant and ominous, like a march to the gallows. "Look."

Jayne studied her movements, recognizing them. He'd seen those moves before, when River had nearly castrated him in the Maidenhead bar. Jayne stood and watched as River elevated fighting into an art form. It was fluid and graceful and Jayne knew that if there were actual people down there with her, they would be dead from where she was delivering the blows.

The music changed again into what Inara, Lilah, and Simon recognized as a waltz. River was on tip-toe, twirling gracefully with some young man that only existed in her mind. Her face lit up as she spun around and nearly collided with Mal and Zoe, who were just then coming up the ramp, each carrying several square white boxes.

Mal barely had time to hand his boxes over to Zoe as River pulled him into her dance. He smiled widely as he let her spin him around a few times before he took the lead, dancing her around the bay for a few minutes. He momentarily forgot that he was supposed to be cross with River and that he had some explaining to do to Zoe. For a few moments, he was just dancing around with a girl who'd become somewhat of a daughter to him.

The music ended and Mal managed to bow to a curtseying River without looking like a complete dumbass. He collected a few of the boxes from Zoe and beamed at River.

"Been keeping yourself busy?" He asked.

River smiled and nodded. "The music called to me." She said. "And I hadn't broken in Simon's birthday gift to me."

"Good. Just keep stayin' outta trouble and we'll all be shiny." He said.

Mal looked up at where the crew had gathered on the catwalks…Simon and Kaylee were standing together, Inara was near her shuttle and Jayne was near Inara…Lilah was standing by herself, as close to the bridge as she could get on the catwalks.

"Lilah," He called. "Get us on our way to Persephone, smartish!"

She mockingly saluted him.

"Yes, Sir, Mr. Captain, Sir!" She turned and left, smirking as she heard the laughter of everyone but Mal. It was so much fun to goad him.

"What's in the boxes, Cap'n?" Kaylee asked as Mal came up the stairs, following Zoe.

"It turned out that our contact was actually an eight year-old on a sugar rush in an elderly woman's body. And apparently she likes to garden and make pies. Lots and lots of pies." Mal said.

"We got pie?" Jayne perked up, following the group into mess. "What kind?"

"Take your pick." Zoe answered, entering the mess locker and setting the boxes on a nearby shelf before opening up their deep freezer and shifting around various items to make room for the boxes. She loaded hers into the freezer, seeing pumpkin, strawberry, apple, blueberry, and banana crème on the boxes. She held her hands out to Mal, who began handing his boxes to her one at a time. Peach, the cheesecake, sugar crème, pecan, and chocolate each got loaded as well.

"We ain't gonna have one now?" Kaylee pouted.

"We already have desert in the main fridge, Kaylee. Ain't no need to let it go to waste." Mal said. He eyed his crew, particularly Jayne and Kaylee. "Anyone sneaking 'round these pies is gonna find his or herself on septic duty for a month." He said warningly.

Kaylee and Jayne scowled.

"Ruttin' tyrant." Jayne muttered.

"Jayne," Zoe said. "Go and find something to do."

"Pair of ruttin' tyrants," Jayne corrected loudly as he walked away. "At least one of ya's hot. An' no, Mal, it ain't you."

"You know, Zoe," Mal said. "There are times when I think back on the day we hired him on, remember that day?"

"He was in the middle of trying to rob us, Sir. I remember." Zoe said blandly.

"Yeah, I think back on that day, and I wonder why I didn't just let him shoot us." He finished.

"You didn't because I would have found a way to kill you before he did, Sir." Zoe said dryly. "And he is upon occasion useful. Like when he's displacing snipers and pulling me back from a pack of Reavers."

Mal smiled. "Things wouldn't be nearly as much fun around here without him, would they?"

Zoe rolled her eyes.

* * *

I hope you enjoy! Questions, comments, and constructive criticism are greatly appreciated!


	7. Part VII

**Disclaimer**: Firefly, Serenity, and all related characters are copyright 2002-2005 Mutant Enemy, Inc., Universal Pictures, and 20th Century Fox. This is a work of fanfiction. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Summary**: Mal and Zoe discuss their previous job, Zoe and Lilah come to an understanding, and a handsome man of dubious character receives his birthday gift. Now Complete.

**Still Flying: Part VII**

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* * *

**

Dinner that night broached a subject that was rarely spoken of.

It was actually Zoe's turn to cook and she did so without complaint. She was somewhat talented in the kitchen, even though she cooked the least out of the crew, except for perhaps River. She only ever used to cook for Wash, pulling rank over the others to stay out of the rotation. Wash had loved her cooking, and he had enjoyed every one of her meals as a special treat, claiming that each one was his absolute favorite. He'd always taken her turns in the rotation and he hadn't been a bad cook either.

After _Serenity_ had been patched up, she'd taken his place on the rotation without saying a word to the others. She cracked a smile as she whipped the potato grains into the water, the mixture becoming thicker and fluffier by the second. Feeling extravagant, she added a bit of the precious, little real butter they had.

She sent River, who had been sitting at the back table while drawing intently, to go and gather up the crew. Zoe began moving the food over to the table, smelling her handiwork and smiling faintly. She could do wonders when she actually had real food to work with. Dinner was courtesy of the pirate ship they had raided: roast beef in brown gravy with onions and the last of the mushrooms. She'd chosen protein meant to taste like green beans to go along with her mashed potatoes and all in all, thought she had done a decent job.

The crew trickled in one by one until all were sitting and eating happily. Mal had actually moaned when he had his first bite and Zoe raised her eyebrow at him. The only person _Serenity_ who was so vocal about food was Kaylee, and that was usually for something that was red and sweet and called a strawberry.

"This is damn good, Zoe." Mal said. "I think I finally get what Wash meant when he said your cooking was nearly as good as sex."

"He actually said that?" Inara asked with a laugh.

"Oh, surely you heard him carrying on whenever Zoe cooked for him?" Inara shook her head. "You know, he was the only one she ever cooked for." Mal said. "He used to rave about it on the bridge."

Zoe smiled and shrugged, clearly unused to such praise.

"I move that Zoe cooks permanently." Jayne said, in between mouthfuls of food.

"I move that Jayne shuts up." Zoe said.

"I second that motion." Simon said quickly.

"Thirded." Lilah added.

"All in favor?" Mal asked.

"Aye!" Chorused seven of the eight people sitting at the table.

"Motion passed." Mal said, chuckling.

Jayne looked as if he were about to bite out a nasty retort before snorting and laughing. He turned his attention back to his food, clearly enthralled.

"So, Cap'n, you have an idea of where we're going after we get done at Persephone?" Kaylee asked. The others looked up from their food to look at Mal.

"Yeah, barring any complications, we'll be heading towards Haven." Mal said quietly.

The crew fell silent at that, remembering that it was indeed almost the anniversary of the Miranda broadcast and the loss of two of their own. Lilah didn't know what to think; Leaf had been the only one she had known. She hadn't known Shepherd Book and she hadn't been part of their mission to reveal the truth of the Alliance's genocide of an entire plant to every world spinning. She wasn't sure she even had the right to set foot on the place that Mal and the others obviously considered to be hallowed ground.

"Have to go; can't forget. We mustn't forget them." River said, smiling slightly. Lilah was unsure if her comment was directed at her or not. "We have to remember that it happened and that we survived. Have to remember to honor them."

"River's right." Inara agreed. "It would be wrong to not go."

There was a long moment of silence.

"So, about that pie-" Jayne started.

"No." Was all Mal had to say.

Things seemed to lighten up after that and they went back to eating and talking animatedly.

* * *

"So," Zoe said to Mal, as they sat in the catwalks, sharing a drink. "You gonna tell me what the hell had you wound so tight on the job earlier?"

Mal sighed heavily. It'd been a question but meant as an order: "Tell me now, damn it."

"The frames. Inara was looking at the art, curious about it because she's into that sort of thing, I suppose, and she noticed the frames. She said they looked wrong and when we took one off and pulled away a sealing strip on the inside, we found drugs hidden in the hollowed out area.

"Simon found us and told us that they were illegal drugs that we needed to get rid of and fast. The three of us worked to get the drugs out and then we spaced them before sealing the frames up and re-framing the work."

"And that's why you were so glad to see that she wanted them burned." Zoe said. "She didn't have a clue about them…it must have been the grandson's doing."

"That's what I figured. But Zoe," he said, looking at her intently. "Simon said that some of them could kill a person quick and quiet with just a drop or two. He also said that the Alliance were the ones what started making them. Penalty for just being connected with them is 15 years on a penal moon. Those drugs were bad news."

"I'm getting that, Mal," Zoe said. "Just wish you wouldn't hold out on me when it comes to stuff like this, I can't help this crew if I don't know what's going on."

"You know I trust you more than I trust anyone, Zoe," Mal said seriously. "But them drugs made me panic. I don't like 'em and I don't deal in 'em and those bags of them that we spaced could've rained down heaps of trouble on us. It was late at night when we found them and I wasn't about to go knocking on your hatch door to tell you about it. You don't get enough sleep anymore as it is."

"I sleep just fine, Mal," Zoe said. "It's getting better," She added quietly.

"Take all the time you need, Zoe," Mal said kindly as they started setting the mess back to order, both ready to settle down for the night. She smiled at him as they walked to their bunks. "I mean it Zoe," he told her as they got ready to descend. "Take all the time you need. We couldn't do any of this without you. Not a bit."

She smiled and bade him good night.

_Me especially,_ he thought, climbing down into his bunk. _Me especially._

* * *

Lilah wondered who was knocking at her door at this time of night. She dragged herself out of bed and slid the door open a little to find Zoe, who had her album with her.

"Couldn't sleep?" Lilah asked, inviting her in.

"I was getting ready to turn in for the night and I remembered that I still had this. I thought I'd give it back before I forgot." She handed the album to Lilah and sat down on the built-in wall-seat in her room.

"Thanks. Did they help at all?" Lilah asked.

Zoe smiled faintly.

"A little. It's hard to take in, you know? It's easy to forget that we all had these whole other lives before we came on this ship. And when I looked at those captures and played a few, I saw a lot of my Wash in your Leaf. He was a character even then."

"He was." Lilah agreed. "He was the heart of our little group."

"It was the same way here." Zoe said. "You know, when he came on board he had a mustache?"

"Oh, he grew that horrid thing back?" Lilah groaned. "We shaved it off when he slept one night that first week we were in training. It was atrocious. It looked as though something had died on his face."

Zoe laughed.

"I made him shave it off too; told him either it went or he went."

"Why he loved that _gorram_ thing, I'll never know." Lilah said.

It got very quiet between them and Zoe stood to leave, saying that it was very late and she needed to get some shut-eye.

"Zoe?" Lilah questioned as Zoe started to slide the door shut.

"Yeah?"

"Things between us… are we okay?" She had to know.

Zoe was silent for a long moment, before she sighed and smiled slightly.

"Yeah, we're good." And she left.

* * *

_Three Weeks Later…_

The fancy shuttle touched down on the estate of Shiloh Wu. The pilot powered the shuttle off and then exited to cross to the other side and open the hatch door.

"Sir," the pilot said respectfully, head bowed.

A young man stepped out and surveyed the view with only the slightest hint of interest, as if the magnificent ocean view was beneath him.

"Is there anything you require, Sir?" The pilot asked.

"No, Jeffries. I need nothing at this time."

The young man made his way to the large mansion on the estate with the practiced ease of one long familiar with the area. He wondered back to the garden, obviously sure of what he would find.

He came across a lady wearing a large, floppy-brimmed straw hat with a ridiculous ribbon and flower decoration.

His charming face lit up, though the lady did not notice how the smile did not meet his eyes.

"Oh! It's you! I'd so hoped you would make it within the week. I have a very special surprise for you! Oh! You're going to be so thrilled!" Shiloh Wu bounced back and forth on the balls of her feet and clapped her hands excitedly. "I can't wait to give my favorite grandson his birthday surprise."

The man dutifully escorted her like a true gentleman, nodding in all the right places and offering up a polite "Indeed," at Mrs. Wu's conversation.

When they were inside the mansion where he had spent so many a holiday, she playfully bid him to close his eyes.

"It wouldn't be sporting of you to ruin your surprise. I'm so excited for you!"

He managed to not roll his eyes before he closed them. He heard his grandmother say, "Bring them in!"

He patiently waited. He'd been waiting for months now; a few moments wouldn't make any difference.

"Open your eyes! Happy Birthday!"

He opened his eyes. In front of him were several large paintings, none of them particularly attractive or breathtaking. And the frames…

"Well, what do you think? When you mentioned your interest in them I just couldn't stop myself! I do love to spoil you so!" His grandmother said.

"They're perfect, Grandmother. Thank you," he flashed his most charming smile. "But what of the original frames, I'm rather curious as to what happened to them."  
Shiloh Wu snorted.

"Those hideous things? I burned and replaced them. I don't know what that art director was thinking, choosing those frames. There were just awful."

He nodded and smiled at her once more, not revealing the fury that raged inside him at his plans being so magnificently thwarted.

"Thank you for the birthday gift, Grandmother. I love them," he said with a gesture to the paintings, before sweeping over to her to wrap her in a hug.

"You're so very welcome, Atherton, my dear."

_Damn you, Malcolm Reynolds._ He thought savagely, still hugging his grandmother. _I swear I'll find a way to make you pay for this._

* * *

I hope you enjoy! Questions, comments, and constructive criticism are greatly appreciated!


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